Cookie

Buttery and delicious, this dough can be flavored and shaped many different ways. In the convection oven I bake three pans at a time. For the best flavor, wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 24 hours. During this time the butter and additional flavors (see variations) develop.

These are my favorite “mass-production” cookies. So, when I have little time to bake, these are the cookies I choose.

Brown sugar in these cut-out cookies gives them a rich, caramel-butterscotch flavor. Use any cookie cutters, or follow the directions for Praline-Filled Chocolate Drizzle Cookies (page 217) for delicious cookies shaped, filled, and frosted in mass-production style.

This is the simplest of doughs for cut-out cookies, but the best! Bake three sheets of cookies at a time and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F for the most even baking.

Every region of Italy has its own version of biscotti, and these plain and simple twice-baked cookies from Calabria are great for the home baker. They are tasty and crumbly, and I like the accent of the toasted sliced almonds. When you cut the logs of dough after the first baking, you’ll likely have crumbs and some broken pieces, but don’t throw them away. Save them to sprinkle over ice cream or poached fruit, or to fold into a zabaglione—they add crunch and a sweet taste to all kinds of desserts.

Panmelati are a delightful and surprising confection. Sweet, chewy, orange-infused, and crusted in nuts, they could be mistaken for fancy candy balls, but they are actually a kind of no-bake cookie, fashioned from a simple dough of bread crumbs cooked in honey. A great way to recycle old bread, these are quickly made, fun to roll, and a delicious treat with tea, coffee, or a dessert wine.

These New Orleans classics will satisfy a serious sweet tooth.

These cookies are also delicious made with dried cherries instead of cranberries.

I'm surprised and delighted by the number of sweets and desserts that I have been able to come up with sans flour and dairy. With this one I had help. Our good friend Dr. Nersessian—a very good cook—came up with the first version of this to give me a dessert without the bad things. I have fiddled with it a bit. It has been a great success with all who have tasted it. A chocolate version follows.

Without exception, this was the most sought-after recipe at my restaurant and bakery. You would never believe these incredibly fudgy brownies are made with beans but no flour. The beans provide great body and fiber without a "beany" taste. Keep the brownies in the refrigerator. They will slice much better if refrigerated for several hours or overnight. Find natural coffee substitute at natural food stores.

When quickly cooked on the stove-top and then spooned onto baking sheets, this simple batter bakes into delicate lacy crisps.

Adding pretzels to the caramel gives these over-the-top bars a crunchy texture and salty-sweet finish.

Egg whites vary in size, and the quantity of whites used in a meringue affects its texture. When making these cookies, it's best to use a liquid measuring cup to measure the whites. You'll want to chill the cookies overnight to get the perfect balance of crisp and chewy.

Serve these fragrantly spiced classics with coffee or tea.

To keep the rolled dough's cylindrical shape, chill or freeze it inside empty cardboard paper-towel tubes.

Use a triple hit of ginger—fresh, ground, and crystallized—and blackstrap molasses to lift your ginger cookies to the next level. The dough is rolled in raw sugar for a sparkly effect.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. These cookies are delicious fresh from the oven, but to amplify the ginger flavor, allow the cookies to cool completely before eating. Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips can be used in lieu of both, and walnuts and other add-ins can be substituted for the candied ginger.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. This is a classic old-school Christmas recipe from my grandmother, Ethel Hughes Johnston, which uses candied fruit and coconut. If you can't find green candied cherries, you can get by with just red ones. They'll still look festive.

Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live. This is loosely adapted from an old recipe that originally appeared in The New York Times. It calls for vanilla sugar, a blend of confectioners' sugar and the seeds from a vanilla bean. The mixture keeps indefinitely and is wonderful sprinkled over French toast or berries.