Q: Can the 12 inch MacBook work with an apple display?

It would depend on which Apple Display you were talking about.

Apple Thunderbolt Cinema Display, No.

Apple LED Cinema Display (No longer sold), Yes, but would need a USB-C to Mini DisplayPort adapter

Older Apple Displays with DVI inputs, Yes, but would need several adapters.

Dear Lanny, can you elaborate a little bit more on that? I have a Macbook 2015 and an old (2010) Apple LED Cinema Display. I have tried almost every combination of adapters that have been mentioned online and none of them worked. Older third party monitors with a VGA or HDMI connection work perfectly, but curiously an Apple monitor does not. This is really frustrating...

http://www.macworld.com/article/2966043/displays/how-to-connect-an-apple-display -to-a-usb-c-macbook.html

Thanks for the prompt reply Lanny. Unfortunately the "ungodly combination" of cables and adapters proposed by Glenn Fleishman did not work for me, although everything seems to fit perfectly. Other MacWorld readers also tried this solution, but unsuccesfully.