Cookie

We are happy to announce that Jeanne Brophy has won our December 2005 "Cook the Cover" contest with her delicious variation on our Mini Black-and-White Cookies . Jeanne Brophy explains her variation:
My variation is in the frosting. I'm not super crazy about the traditional approach. So thinking that this cookie is really a petite cake in disguise I developed a chocolate (Black) and peanut butter (Tan) buttercream frosting. Dee-licious!

Editor's note: This recipe is from Michele Adams's and Gia Russo's book Wedding Showers: Ideas & Recipes for the Perfect Party. Our food stylist, Kimberly Huson, gave us her grandmother's recipe for these light and delicious cookies. They can be made ahead (up to five days in advance); package in miniature wooden boxes tied with ribbon as favors for your guests.

Somehow, the addition of oatmeal to these chewy, gooey cookies makes me feel like they must be good for me! They certainly taste good, and that's usually my yardstick for making cookies — or anything else, for that matter.

I tinkered endlessly with the proportions of basic brownie ingredients to come up with a recipe that I think is perfect. They have a deep chocolate flavor, moist, fudgy interior, and chewy edges. Best of all, they are entirely mixed in one saucepan. No bowls to wash!

Don't let the hairy arms and legs alarm, you. Tarantula cookies might look frisky, but they don't bite.

Finger cookies are usually found in sets of five. If you think they look weird, you should see the cookie person to whom these fingers belonged.

Peppermint buttercream is sandwiched between homemade chocolate cookies; then the sandwiches are rolled in crushed candy canes.

Crisp, buttery maple cookies get a sparkly sugar-crystal coating.

A big dose of lime (from lime juice, zest, and oil) really makes these sing.

Saturday-night dessert. From Willow Stream The Spa at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort in Arizona. This is the best spa cookie we tried — and we devoured ovenfuls of cookies to find our winner. These Anzacs are rich in coconut but low in fat.

Tip: If you brown the butter, you can use half as much.

These cookies have a low-fat secret. They're full of beans! Idaho State University researchers in Pocatello replaced 75 percent of the butter with beans to create cookies with 105 calories and 3 fat grams (compared with 150 calories and 7 fat grams).

Lori Hartman of New York City, writes: "I'm looking for a good madeleine recipe similar to the delicious ones (lemony, buttery, and spongy, but crispy on the edges) I used to buy at Bouley Bakery in Manhattan's TriBeCa neighborhood. Can you get the recipe?" The crisp edge on these delightful citrus-scented cookies sets them apart from any other classic madeleines our food editors have tasted. We're never going back.

These buttery fruit-and-nut bars taste like rugelach but are much easier to make.

If you are looking for a cookie that's lower in calories than your favorite chocolate chip recipe, whip up a batch of these palate-pleasing bites from pastry chef Heather Norkin. They're easy to make, and almost all of the fat is the heart-friendly unsaturated kind, from the pecans.

These delicate little almond cookies are perfect for entertaining; the contrast between the crisp cookie and gooey-sweet jam will keep guests coming back for more. And it takes less than 30 minutes of hands-on cooking time to whip up a batch.

Crumbly, delicate, and glistening with golden sugar, these easy slice-and-bake cookies are the ideal complement to Calvados toddies. Perfect as an after-dinner nibble or an everyday treat, they will quickly become one of your favorite standbys.

Be sure to use regular peanut butter — not old-fashioned or freshly ground — for the best consistency in the cookie batter and the filling.

These crumbly cookies are extremely easy to make, and they improve with time. We recommend baking them a couple of days ahead — if you can resist the temptation to eat them immediately.