Electric Mixer

The applesauce in this recipe keeps the cookies moist; maple syrup flavors the simple white icing that gets drizzled over the tops.

A hefty dose of cocoa powder makes these old-fashioned drop cookies perfect for fans of dark chocolate. The recipe is so simple, it’s a natural for preparing with children; they especially love forming the dough into balls and rolling them in sanding sugar.

These moist, relatively thin blondies burst with gingerbread spices and white chocolate chunks.

Malted-milk powder, a combination of powdered milk, wheat flour, and malted barley, adds a rich component to both these cookies and their filling. A double dose of chocolate (chopped semisweet and lots of cocoa powder) makes these sandwich cookies extra decadent.

You’re guaranteed to get a bit of brown butter–flecked icing in every bite of these pillowy spice cookies. Offer them at a Halloween party or as part of a Thanksgiving dessert buffet.

Thyme serves as a savory counterpoint to these sweet, soft, and chewy tea cookies. Cornmeal and dried currants add additional texture—and flavor.

Incorporating less butter and brown sugar into the batter yields cookies that are thicker and fluffier than other chocolate chip cookies, with just as many chips—and just as much appeal.

The dough for these cookies develops into two distinct textures as it bakes—a soft, chewy center surrounded by a wafer-like shell.

A generous topping of fresh berries and toasted almond slices embellishes these basic blondies.

Blondies are usually baked in a square or rectangular pan and cut into bars. Here we’ve used a springform pan to bake a round that’s then cut into wedges. The familiar flavor is made even more irresistible with the spice of candied ginger, the sweetness of dried pears, and the crunch of pistachios.

Rich cream cheese dough, coconut–cream cheese filling, and a topper of jam make these pinwheels complex—chewy on the outside, creamy in the center. Create a variety of flavors by substituting different fruit jams for the strawberry.

This version of a well-loved combination from childhood concentrates the flavors into a sweet dessert that appeals to all ages. We like strawberry jam, but feel free to substitute any flavor you prefer

For a twist on the traditional French petit fours known as financiers, we baked these cookie “cakes” in mini-muffin tins instead of small rectangular pans. They have a nutty, buttery flavor with floral hints of honey. Tiny raspberry heart decorations make them an appropriate gift for Valentine’s Day.

A sugar-and butter-rich batter is the foundation for these cookie-jar classics. Just baked, they make a perfect snack on a chilly winter night—or any time.

The long, thin shape of these cookies accounts for their distinctive name in many languages: langues-de-chat in French, lingue di gatto in Italian, and cat’s tongues in English. Serve them as an accompaniment to fruit compote or ice cream.

The origins of the whoopie pie remain a mystery, but many believe that the cookie, a specialty of Pennsylvania Dutch country and parts of New En gland, was created when leftover cake batter was baked, iced, and sandwiched as a treat for children. We used a peanut butter filling, but substitute Seven-Minute Frosting (recipe follows) if you prefer.

The addition of whole, salted peanuts in this super-crunchy cookie imparts the perfect balance of salty and sweet. And the light-as-air texture of the crisps themselves contrasts quite nicely with the chunkiness of the peanuts.

The virtues of this cookie recipe are many: It relies on just a few basic ingredients, the dough is remarkably easy to prepare, and as the cookies bake, they fill the kitchen with the most magnificent scent.

Brown butter is simply butter that has been cooked until it takes on a delicious, subtle nutty flavor and aroma—which explains its French name, beurre noisette, or “hazelnut butter.” Be sure to keep an eye on it as it cooks, to avoid burning.

Just a few of these striped showstoppers make a festive and memorable holiday gift; be sure to package them carefully, as they are very fragile. Bake the cookies two or three at a time, then roll them as they come out of the oven, while they’re still pliable.