A USO image of celebrity chef and baker, Nancy Silverton. Silverton baked cookies with service members and families as part of a virtual USO Military Programming series on Dec. 4, 2024. (USO)

Celebrity chef and baker Nancy Silverton helped keep service members and families connected this holiday season by baking cookies virtually with them during a live USO program on Wednesday.

The award-winning chef demonstrated a snickerdoodle cookie recipe from her cookbook, “The Cookie That Changed My Life.” Viewers from across the country and overseas tuned in to watch Silverton bake the cookies while interacting with service members and their families who were following along in their own kitchens from USO Humphreys at Sentry Village, South Korea, and USO Alaska Fort Wainwright at Fairbanks.

A Zoom webinar screenshot of a virtual USO Military Program moderated by television personality, Kelly Miyahara, top left with special guest chef and baker Nancy Silverton, top right. Silverton baked cookies with service members and families from USO Alaska Fort Wainwright at Fairbanks, Alaska, bottom left, and USO Humphreys at Sentry Village, South Korea, bottom right, on Dec. 4, 2024. (Kaylyn Barnhart/Stars and Stripes)

“Thank you for your service. … I greatly appreciate your families that support you so you can provide great service for our country. It was my pleasure to bake with you,” Silverton said at the end of the live program.

The virtual program was moderated by television personality Kelly Miyahara in Southern California who had candid talks with Silverton and asked questions sent in by viewers in advance of the program and during the baking demonstration.

Silverton gave baking advice and tips while also explaining each step of her cookie-making process.

This was Silverton’s first time working with the USO and connecting with the military community. As she was sharing her own knowledge, service members and USO volunteers from South Korea and Alaska shared stories about their bases and the USO’s mission.

“Just having that hour … engaging with those people that are giving their lives to make sure that we hopefully live in a better and safer world,” Silverton said.

She realized that there are service members around the world who are separated from their families during the holidays, and although they cannot be together physically, she says that bringing them together with a baked item virtually is a good way to remind them of home.

“Those that are in the military, that are dispersed all over the world, not with family, are keeping our world protected,” she said.

This virtual event is part of the USO Virtual Military Programming which is a series of virtual events that provide uplifting and positive digital content for military families and troops.