If you’ve tried to buy a fresh Christmas tree since 2020, the sticker shock probably drove you to check out the plastic trees listed for half the price and promised to last for decades. They want how much for a 5-foot Douglas Fir that you will throw away in just a few weeks?

But, don’t give in just because an artificial tree promises perfect symmetry, low maintenance, no mess, and pre-strung lights.

In Colorado, we are blessed that for less than $50, you can get a soaring evergreen that will fill your home with pine the entire holiday season, no matter how you celebrate.

The Schrader family’s 2023 Christmas tree came from a Denver Mountain Park and was cut down using a free permit through the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. (Provided by Megan Schrader)

All that is required is that you are open to the reality that your tree will be a cross between the sad specimen in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and the family crisis from a “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

For several years now, my family either gets free permits from Denver Mountain Parks or $20 permits from the National Forest Service to cut down a fresh tree near Evergreen or Fraser.

Snowshoes are optional in these locations – although they certainly make it easier during snow years. We can search far and wide for the perfect tree or chop down the first tree we see after one of the kids issues the first complaint of the morning. We use a small hand saw that we purchased for cutting tree branches in the back yard, and the tree fits on top of our Subaru Outback with just a few ropes.

We bring a thermos of hot cocoa and a sled for celebrating after we find the “perfect” tree.

Certainly, what I’m proposing is extra work. Our group of friends and family has had twisted ankles and sledding mishaps. Sometimes it feels more chore than joy packing up everything for the day trip to the mountains. But once we leave the parking lot, I remember why we keep signing up every year. The sun will filter through the trees and make the snow sparkle. My kids will laugh and throw snow. And for minimal effort, I start Christmas with a simple family trip that reminds me to be grateful for the abundance and beauty in this world.

Freshly cut Colorado Christmas trees can also be a responsible decision in this world of over-consumption. These trees are being cut from areas that forestry experts have deemed in need of thinning for health or fire-protection reasons. We do our best to select a young tree growing in a dense clump, and I feel less guilty knowing that the tree next door will thrive without the competition for sunlight, water and nutrients.

Fake trees are the way to go: No needles, no sap, no hassle

And after the holidays, the tree makes it full circle in our home: We drop it off with the city of Denver’s tree recycling program, and in the spring, we collect a free trunk-load of mulch from the city to use in our yard.

Which is the perfect segue into the best part of getting a fresh tree while living in a small house in Denver: no storage necessary.

While I understand the lure of an artificial tree, nothing can beat the sentimental attachment I feel for the scraggly little piece of nature that we stuff into a corner of our living room. And as long as we remember to water it — frequently — the beauty will last from early December until the New Year.

By KAT LIEU, Voracious

At first glance, these Lychee-Frosted Sugar Cookies from my cookbook “108 Asian Cookies: Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen” appear humble when unfrosted, like any other ordinary sugar cookie, like those you would find at the supermarket.

But don’t be fooled.

This cover image released by Voracious shows “108 Asian Cookies: Not-Too-Sweet Treats from a Third-Culture Kitchen” by Kat Lieu. (Voracious via AP)

These charming sugar cookies shine even on their own with their rich buttery base, tender crumb, bright refreshing citrus notes and a slight chew. Then, when topped with a luxurious buttercream infused with lychee extract, a bit of berry compote or jam, and finally crowned with chopped canned lychees, they undergo a bibbidi-bobbidi-boo moment. The more you bite into this layered and regal cookie, the more you’ll feel like royalty.

When pressing the dough portions, slightly wet the bottom of a glass or measuring cup, then dip into a shallow bowl of sugar to coat the bottom. For a variation you can skip the jam and add the lychees directly to the frosting. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, each separated by parchment paper, for up to 3 days.

This image released by Voracious shows a recipe for lychee-frosted cookies. (Voracious via AP)

Lychee-Frosted Sugar Cookies

Makes 9 large cookies

Ingredients

FOR THE COOKIES:

2 1/2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (85 g) cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup ‘ 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons (90 g) neutral oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (120 g) granulated sugar, plus more for pressing the cookies
About 1/2 cup (60 g) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon red miso
1 large egg
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lychee extract

FOR THE FROSTING:

6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (140 g) confectioners’ sugar, divided
4 teaspoons (20 g) heavy cream
1 teaspoon lychee extract
Pink or red food coloring gel (optional, but if you use it, we want light pink, not a hot magenta pink)

FOR DECORATING THE COOKIES (OPTIONAL):

About 1/3 cup (110 g) store-bought strawberry jam
5 to 6 fresh or canned lychees, chopped
Edible pearl sprinkles or gold foil

Directions

1. Make the cookies. Whisk both flours, the baking soda and cream of tartar together in a medium bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, whisk, or spatula), cream the butter, oil, both sugars and miso together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the egg, lemon zest, and lychee extract and mix until well incorporated. Again, scrape the bowl as needed. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until a dough forms. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or up to overnight.

2. About 25 minutes before baking, adjust a rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Use a large cookie scoop to create nine portions of dough, each about 3.2 ounces (1/2 cup, 90 g), placing them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press each ball with the bottom of a sugar-lined glass or measuring cup until the cookie edges begin to crack.

4. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time (while the other sheet chills in the fridge), until the edges are crispy and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies set on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Make the frosting. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl as needed. Add about half of the confectioners’ sugar and mix on medium speed until incorporated. Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar and mix until incorporated as well. Add the cream, lychee extract and food coloring, if using, and mix until combined and spreadable. Note that you will have just enough frosting for the nine large cookies. If you love the frosting, I recommend making more for these cookies.

6. Frost and decorate the cookies. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cookies. If you like, add about a teaspoon of jam on top and garnish with chopped lychees and edible pearl sprinkles or edible gold foil.

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Kat Lieu is a food writer, recipe developer, content creator, and the creator behind Subtle Asian Baking, the largest global online group that focuses on Asian baking and fundraising for Asian American and Native Hawaiian-Pacific Islander communities. She lives in Renton, Washington.

Excerpted from “108 Asian Cookies” by Kat Lieu. Copyright (copyright) 2025 by Kathleen Lieu. Photograph by Charity Burggraaf. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

Firefighters who responded to a St. Paul house fire found a man inside and carried him out, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital soon after, according to the fire department.

Fire crews were sent to a single-family home in Payne-Phalen about 12:45 a.m. Thursday. They found heavy fire conditions on the front porch and inside on the first floor of the residence in the 400 block of East Cook Avenue. The fire had also extended to the second floor.

Firefighters quickly brought the fire under control and, as they were searching, they found the man in the second-floor bathroom. He was in cardiac arrest and St. Paul-Fire EMS transported him to a hospital while providing resuscitation efforts, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith. The man was pronounced dead soon after arriving to the hospital.

The St. Paul fire department is investigating the fire’s cause. A preliminary investigation found a space heater near the fire’s origin, which was the first-floor living room in the front of the house, Smith said.

“Officially, this cannot be ruled a fire fatality until all investigations are complete,” Smith said in a media statement.

The Red Cross is providing resources for three men and a woman who were displaced by the fire.

There have been five fire fatalities in St. Paul this year. The city averages less than three fire fatalities annually, according to Smith.

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At long last, Kevin Garnett is coming home.

After a decade of abstaining from organizational relationships as the result of a tiff with then majority owner Glen Taylor, Garnett is set to join the Timberwolves and Lynx in an “all-encompassing role involving business, community and fan-engagement efforts and content development,” ESPN reported Thursday morning.

Garnett’s relationship with Taylor twice soured — once during his career, and once after following the death of Flip Saunders. He was not present at Target Center or in the team’s practice facility outside of rare media obligations, leaving Minnesota unable to celebrate the best player in franchise history with the retirement of his famed No. 21 jersey, much to the chagrin of local fans.

That will now change. The ownership transition from Taylor to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez has paved the way for Garnett to return to Minnesota in numerous capacities, as the new owners have made strong efforts to strengthen bonds with the former NBA MVP.

ESPN reported a jersey retirement is expected either this Timberwolves season or next.

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