This recipe is near and dear to my heart, I have been making it with my family for the past 30 years, it's our Christmas Cookie!

Mmm-mmm-mm. This is such a simple and easy recipe that promises such big flavor. We made this for a party last week and it was a huge hit - our guests scraped the bowl clean! We love Joana Faria's slightly edgy illustration style. The creative twist on the advent calendar works so well for this recipe. The chunky hand lettering style is great combined with the delicate rows of garland. If you venture over to her website you'll see lots more of her detailed line drawings and intriguing designs. In fact, we love this recipe so much we made it for our own holiday party and it turned out great! (Thanks Joana!)

Today, we'd like to congratulate Paula Pertile, an illustrator from California for being our 3rd place winner. Paula will receive $300 from They Draw and Cook for her wonderful Shortbread illustration. The judges told us that they loved the cuteness (reindeer with apron!), humor (reindeer listening to an iPod while the shortbread is baking!) and simplicity (such an easy recipe to follow!) of this ilustration. They also really loved the sweet story this conveys through Paula's use of the happy reindeer family all helping out and enjoying this holiday treat! Her color palette and exquisite hand-lettering were the icing on the cake, of in this case, shortbread cookie! Congratulations Paula and thanks for sharing your artwork and recipe with us!Be sure to check back tomorrow to see who the 2nd place winner will be!

Today, we'd like to congratulate Eliza DeVogel, an illustrator from Cleveland, Ohio for being our 2nd place winner. Eliza will receive $500 from They Draw and Cook for her super cute illustration of a Christmas Hot Russian cocktail. The judges thought that Eliza's illustration was super fun, hip and pretty and that her combination of pattern, color, linework and texture made it really unique. And, of course, the matryoshka dolls were a very smart and cute choice! Congratulations Eliza and thanks for sharing this deliciousness with us!Be sure to check back tomorrow to see who the 1st place winner will be! Woo-hoo! :-