Cookie

This is all about the dough: there is none better. My earliest appreciation for it came from a cookie my grandmother made. I could never get over how delicious they were, but it was only years later that I realized they were a variation on the standard kolacky. These are most easily filled with thick preserves, or you can make your own fillings from stewed dried or fresh fruit as long as the mixture is thick. Some people add enough flour to make a stiff dough, but it’s really preferable to leave the dough sticky, which translates to tenderness, and refrigerate it for a few hours, which makes it easier to handle. If you’re in a hurry, however, make the dough a little stiffer and roll it out right away. These are fun to make with kids, as the ultimate shape really doesn’t matter.

Madeleines are a classic French sweet, a delightful spongy cookie in a convenient bite size. The longer the batter is chilled, the greater the chance that you will have the signature madeleine hump. Serve warm, please.

Tuiles are better known, but the same cookies are popular in Sweden. You can make them without almonds, but unless you have allergies I don’t know why you would. Great alone or with ice cream or fruit.

“Bones of the Dead”—long-lasting cookies that will keep for about a month in an airtight container.They’re easy, sweet, and great with a cup of espresso. Flavor with vanilla, almond, cinnamon, or nothing at all.

The familiar zwiebacklike cookie originated not at Starbucks but in Italy, where it is nowhere near as popular as it is in the States. Still, it’s nice to have a bunch around, and they keep far better than regular cookies, up to a week in an airtight container. Increase the sugar to a cup if you like your biscotti sweet. These may be made, of course, without nuts, with lemon instead of orange, or with added ingredients like raisins or even chocolate chips.

These can be produced, if you like, with lard or (more likely) butter, but this is an ancient recipe from southern Spain and probably was originally made with olive oil. Terrific with sherry or coffee.

These cookies are moist and delicious and simple to assemble. In the Italian cuisine, ricotta seems to be able to resurface deliciously in every course. Since it is a by-product of making cheese, the shepherds had plenty of ricotta. Hence, many desserts are still made from it, like these delicious cookies.

This is one of the most classic Italian American cookies, and it is one of the easiest to make. In Italian American culture, these are simply known as pinoli cookies, the word “pinoli” referring to the pine nuts that top the cookies, a distinct Sicilian twist. The personal element in making this cookie is to ask yourself if you like it chewy or crumbly crisp—the difference is all in the baking time. With the timing given below, they will be a bit chewy, but of course it depends on how big you make them. Oh, so many variables in cooking!

There are many traditional Italian almond-paste cookies, but rainbow cookies seem to have been created in America by Italian American immigrants to honor the colors of the Italian flag. The recipe requires patience, but it is not difficult. As with most baking recipes, follow the instructions carefully and you will be rewarded with cookies that everybody loves and that keep moist for more than a week. You can find them in Italian bakeries year-round, but they are especially popular at Christmastime.

As much as Italians would like to claim the fig as their own, it has deep origins somewhere in Mesopotamia. Then it made its way into the Middle East and the rest of the world. The Egyptians adored the fig and praised it as a medicinal and delicious fruit. Fig breads and sweets were made way before the Italians started, but you cannot take away the importance the fig cookie has on St. Joseph’s Day for the Italian culture. As the legend goes, during a year of drought and famine in Sicily, people would gather and pray to St. Joseph for help. St. Joseph responded by sending heavy rains. To this day Sicilians respond by making the St. Joseph’s table full of offerings, and among them must be the St. Joseph’s fig cookies.

These traditional Italian cookies are as easy as it gets, and everybody loves them. The citrus flavoring renders them inviting, and most likely you have had them at Italian family celebrations such as weddings, confirmations, and baptisms. Not too sweet, these cookies will keep for a week or two in a cookie container.

Use Lady Brownies recipe above. Pour half the batter into a greased pan. Layer with this cream cheese mixture, then top with remaining batter, swirling it with a knife.