Hi and welcome to Five Weeknight Dishes. The word at NYT Cooking headquarters this week is cookies: We have just published our holiday spectacular, which we have so humbly titled “12 Stunning Cookies That Will Impress Everyone You Know.”

And yet, unless you know only professional pastry chefs, I really do believe this is truth. We asked the legendary food stylist Susan Spungen to come up with 12 cookies for modern bakers that would be as amazing to look at as they are to eat, and she delivered in the most astonishing way.

But this is a newsletter for busy people, no? So let me cut straight to the cookies that are easiest to pull off: These gingery brownie crinkles. The brown sugar-anise cookies (it’s difficult to overstate how delicious these are). The dirty chai earthquake cookies (a staff favorite). And the citrus shortbread (beautiful if you use cookie stamps, but very straightforward if you just make the dough, slice and bake). I’ve tasted them all — I know, life is hard — and they are heaven. Let me know what you think at [email protected].

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You do still need to eat non-cookie foods. And so here are five dishes for the week:

1. Maangchi’s Cheese Buldak (Fire Chicken)

This recipe is from the YouTube celebrity Maangchi, and the video of her making this cheesy, saucy, extremely fast chicken dish has been viewed 7.6 million times. And really, look at the cheese pull in this photo. You could add Korean rice cakes to the pan, but no need. Simple broccoli or green beans work on the side.

View this recipe.

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2. Roasted Salmon and Brussels Sprouts With Citrus-Soy Sauce

If you buy your brussels sprouts presliced, as I did this week, then you actually can be eating this delicious meal within 15 minutes of the oven coming to temp. Virtuous but not Puritan, simple but never dull, this is a very strong, fast dinner.

View this recipe.

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3. Cauliflower Adobo

This is a vegan reimagining of the Filipino dish chicken adobo, and it is more than a little brilliant. Serve with rice or another grain, and something green on the side. I might also add fried eggs for fun.

View this recipe.

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4. Creamy Pasta With Bacon and Red Cabbage

Here, the pasta is a delivery vehicle for bacon and cabbage, and I salute it. You’ll spend very little time in the kitchen for this very hearty, slightly smoky, pleasingly creamy outcome.
View this recipe.

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5. Spicy Noodle Soup With Mushrooms and Herbs

This one takes a little longer to come together, but the results are remarkable, especially if you are a mushroom lover (as I am). It’s nuanced and satisfying, the kind of dinner that makes you pause after every few bites to admire your handiwork.

View this recipe.

But really: cookies. You can follow me on Instagram, or NYT Cooking on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Become a subscriber to NYT Cooking or — it’s not too soon — buy a gift subscription. (For your dog walker? Babysitter? Secret Santa?) Previous newsletters are archived here. I’m [email protected], and if you have any problems with your account, email [email protected].

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