Cookie

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 5 hr

Joanne M. Pietroske, Greenfield, Wis.
"I always include these in 'cookie boxes' I make for relatives who can't bake anymore."

(Viscotti di'Mandorla Banana) These viscotti—Sicilian biscotti—come in many flavors; bakeries use food coloring to give customers a visual clue. In this case, yellow equals banana.

(Koulourakia) Although traditionally served at Easter, these simple cookies have been a Christmas favorite in the Greek-American family of senior associate editor Tricia Callas for years. When they are baked in December, Tricia gives the twists a twist by shaping them into candy canes.

"Biscotti have become very popular recently, but my mother-in-law, Helen, has been baking them for years," says Janet Mercuri of North Royalton Ohio. "Now that I've started using her recipe, friends tell me that my biscotti taste just like their grandmothers' —and I'm not even Italian." These have a subtle anise flavor and would be nice with a caffè latte.

You might be tempted to bake 2 sheets of bars at a time in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Don't give in to this urge—they must go in the middle of the oven to cook through and brown evenly.

The secret to these macaroons' texture is the Italian meringue, composed of egg whites and a boiling sugar syrup. When baking these for Passover, dust the sheets with matzo cake meal; you can use flour at other times.

Cocoa brownies have the softest center and chewiest candylike top "crust" of all because all of the fat in the recipe (except for a small amount of cocoa butter in the cocoa) is butter, and all of the sugar is granulated sugar rather than the finely milled sugar used in chocolate. Use the best cocoa you know for these fabulous brownies.

As energizing as an energy bar, with a much simpler ingredient list.

These pinwheel-style swirls pair classic sugar cookie dough with cranberry and red wine jam. They’re equally at home on a cheese plate and served as dessert.

A simple sandwich cookie made with black tea, fresh ginger, and ground cardamom that tastes just like a cup of milky chai.

A riff on the New York classic black-and-white cookie, featuring refreshing peppermint extract and a sprinkle of festive crushed candy canes.