You can't win unless you enter our ninth-annual holiday cookie contest. We're on the lookout for new and interesting recipes, along with stories that explain how your entry fits into your holiday baking traditions. The prize is a $200 gift certificate.

Follow in the footsteps of past winners and enter local cookie-baking history. Just look at how our 2010 winner, Orange-Pistachio Cookies, from Scott Rohr of Minneapolis, became an instant hit with Minnesota bakers (and eaters).

The winner and finalists -- and their recipes -- will be featured in the Star Tribune on Dec. 1, and will be invited to a delicious, open-to-the-public cookie-fest on Dec. 3 at the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis.

Start baking, and writing: The deadline is in three weeks.