Cookie

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World by Lynn Alley. For more on slow cooking, click here. . Who would have thought you could make chocolate chip cookies in a slow cooker? Though they'll certainly look different from what you're used to, the flavor is great and they're easier and less labor-intensive to make. The cookie slices are delicious topped with ice cream, or simply served with a tall glass of cold milk.

Florence Myers of Gainesville, Missouri, writes: "In the late 1950s and early 1960s I was a counselor at an all-girls summer camp in New Hampshire. When we went on long hikes in the mountains, the camp cook, Peggy Ward, would pack up plenty of her wonderful ginger cookies. I've passed that cookie recipe on to many people, including my granddaughter. She tells me that every time she makes the cookies people ask her for the recipe." Old-fashioned flavor in a super-easy cookie.

These cookies, a twist on traditional snowballs, are just the thing to enjoy with a spot of tea.

These crisp biscotti are made without butter. Instead, the natural fat in hazelnuts is put to good use when the nuts are ground with the sugar for the dough. This way, every bite is imbued with their flavor.

With 35 percent fewer calories than sugar cookies, these sweets belong in your holiday cookie jar.

Peanut-studded brownies, peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache...what better way to savor the PB-chocolate combo?

Juniper berries add a wintery, almost piney flavor. They're available in the spice section of many supermarkets and online from deandeluca.com.

A thick, rich glaze makes these decadent.

Amaretti According to legend, in the early 1700s, a Milanese bishop made a surprise visit to the town of Saronno in Lombardy. A young couple paid tribute to the bishop by welcoming him with their unique homemade cookies, made from crushed apricot kernels and almonds, egg whites, and sugar. The bishop so loved the cookies that he blessed the couple, and the recipe became a local favorite. Today, bakeries throughout the region, and in Italian communities around the world, carry amaretti di Saronno, but it's worth the (small) effort to make them yourself. The recipe is simple, and fresh from the oven, they have a crisp-yet-tender texture that's beyond compare.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains. To read Epicurious's review of the cookbook, go to The Best Cookbooks of 2006. Imagine a dense, moist, chewy brownie. Now take chocolate out of the equation and substitute a different childhood favorite, butterscotch. That's Butter-Nut Blondies. These will be popular with those who count the rich, caramelized taste of butterscotch as one of their favorite flavors.

Thin and crisp, these waferlike cookies add sparkle to the holidays with a glittery topping of cinnamon and sugar.

These savory biscotti are ideal for a soiree. Their crisp texture is accented by the richness of parmesan and the bite of black pepper — perfect for nibbling in between sips of wine.

Who doesn't love Rice Krispies treats? By adding dark chocolate ganache with a tiny jolt of coffee flavor, we've turned the classic into a sophisticated and whimsical bite-size dessert. We found that combining bittersweet chocolate of different cacao levels results in a ganache that has just the right intensity without being overpowering.

A tahini-based dough is rolled in gold- or silver-dusted sesame seeds for eye-popping cookies that melt in the mouth. (They're just as delicious if you skip the fancy gilding.)