Buccaneers Fire Coach Jon Gruden, Gm Bruce Allen

By Vaughn Vreeland, The New York Times Sweet but not cloying, tender but not without bite, cookies are the holidays’ greatest gift — and what better time to celebrate them than Cookie Week, New York Times Cooking’s annual tradition, in which we create seven dazzling, delicious recipes. This year’s batch harnesses all of the season’s colors and flavors, like boozy almond, spicy ginger, buttery peppermint, but with a few surprises — lemony turmeric crinkles, gumdrop-studded fudge.

Windy conditions were reported the day a Civil Air Patrol airplane crashed near Storm Mountain in Larimer County, killing the pilot and a photographer on board and seriously injuring another passenger. The Cessna 182T crashed near Drake at 11:15 a.m. Nov. 23, nearly two hours after taking off from Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland to capture aerial photos for Red Cross emergency response planning, National Transportation Safety Board officials wrote in the report released Friday. Pilot Susan Wolber and photographer Jay Rhoten died in the crash while passenger Randall Settergren was seriously injured. Settergren told NTSB investigators the group had finished their mission, which included flying large circles over mountain roads and a valley, and he thought they were headed back to the airport when the plane seemed to encounter a downdraft. Over a few seconds, Settergren recalled the pilot, Wolber, cursing and starting to turn the plane before the aircraft dropped and started hitting trees.

Fruition, the farm-to-table restaurant started by Chef Alex Seidel on his way to an eventual James Beard Award, is closing its doors after 18 years in Denver. Related: Denver’s most heartbreaking restaurant closures of 2024 Seidel made the announcement in a press release Monday. He didn’t give a reason for closing, only that it was his decision.

One of the top players on the Colorado defense has elected to enter the transfer portal, while one of the top defenders in the portal is on his way to Boulder. On Monday, CU inside linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green announced on social media that he will enter the portal with the intention of playing his final year of eligibility elsewhere. “I am forever grateful for the year that we’ve had together competing for the Big 12 title and with me earning 2nd team All-Big 12 honors on defense,” Hill-Green wrote on social media. Later, former Alabama defensive lineman Jehiem Oatis announced that he is coming to CU as a transfer.

Pat Surtain II provided optimism a day after leaving the Broncos’ 31-13 win over the Colts with an ankle injury. “It’s better. I’m taking it day by day,” the starting cornerback said Monday at Raising Canes in Aurora, where he gave away 100 children’s bikes and helmets to members of A Precious Child, which provides opportunities and resources to Colorado children. Surtain injured his ankle after he intercepted quarterback Anthony Richardson in the final minutes of Sunday’s game at Empower Field at Mile High.

In a game of wild, mind-boggling mistakes and several game-turning moments, this play flew under the radar Sunday in Denver’s 31-13 win over Indianapolis. This was not Jonathan Taylor dropping the ball at the goal line for a game-turning fumble. Or Nik Bonitto snatching a lateral thrown by a rookie wide receiver and rumbling 50 yards for a touchdown.