Wrigleyville will play host to a very sweet debut next week: Chicago’s first-ever cookie market. The event is brought to life by Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a nonprofit that raises funds for pediatric cancer research, and promises a fusion of holiday cheer and philanthropy. It’s the kind of sweet combination that feels festive, heartwarming and only slightly threatening to your waistband.
On Sunday, December 14, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer will host the Chicago Cookie Market at the Christmas Club (3460 N Clark St). The event gathers 40 of the city’s top pastry chefs for a festive day of giving, featuring talent from national icons like Gale Gand and Mindy’s Bakery to local darlings Cafe Yaya and Loba Pastry. Guests will be able to taste-test confections and select two dozen hand-picked cookies to take home.
“After participating in fundraisers supporting Cookies for Kids Cancer in NYC, I knew I needed to help expand their reach to my hometown Chicago,” Jenny McCoy, pastry chair of the event said. “It's not only a wonderful charity doing such great work, but one that pulls together my favorite community: professional and home bakers.”
Proceeds from the event will benefit Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national nonprofit that supports over 40 leading pediatric oncology programs. Locally, this support includes the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center. Specifically, the funds raised will help cover the enrollment cost of early phase clinical trials for children with cancer.
“Until my son was diagnosed when he was two-and-a-half years old, I had no idea that cancer is the #1 disease killer of kids in the U.S.,” Gretchen Holt-Witt, cofounder and executive director of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer said. “Today we’ve funded more than $23 million powered for cutting edge research at leading hospitals like Lurie Children's Hospital through events just like this one organizing by people like Chef Jenny McCoy who care enough to want to get involved.”
Ultimately, the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer market offers a perfectly lovely excuse to spend an afternoon taste-testing your way through a small mountain of cookies in the name of a good cause. After all, ’tis the season when we’re all trying our best to be a little kinder—and perhaps a little doughier—and there’s something undeniably comforting about a place where doing good is as simple as showing up hungry.
General admission ($35) and VIP ($47) tickets to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer are on sale now. Those who cannot attend the event are encouraged to purchase a commemorative silver tin packed with two dozen cookies and a OXO spatula $100. Learn more about the event here.