Cookie

These moist, tender treats are a cross between a cookie and a cake. They're delicious plain, but also make nice ice cream sandwiches.

The oat mixture makes a delicious crust for the bottom—and a tasty crumble on top. Lemon perks up the blueberry filling.

The white chocolate ganache mimics the steamed-milk foam on the top of a cappuccino. A dusting of cinnamon completes the homage.

These cakey, low-fat cookies digest easily and are good for a preexercise snack or recovery food. The recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies—enough to feed the whole team. If you are cooking for yourself, you might want to cut the recipe in half.

Blueberry meets its ideal match: lemon. There will be some jam leftover, but we doubt you'll mind.

This buttery shortbread is a treat for all ages. Kids can help stir the dough with a wooden spoon.

These wee sandwich cakes, also known as Moon Pies, got their start in Pennsylvania Dutch country. They are known as whoopee pies because children exclaim, "Whoopee!" when the cakes are ready. Whole Foods sells Tiny Trapeze brand marshmallow cream, made with "no junkie stuff," as the container states.

These flat, chewy, half whole-wheat cookies are for the chocolate chip purist: no nuts, no frills—pure bliss. They will fly out of the kitchen mysteriously. Use a 1-ounce (2-tablespoon-capacity) ice-cream scoop for easy measuring.

These crumbly, not-too-sweet cookies, which echo the clean corn flavor of polenta, are delicious dipped in a pool of basil-lime granita or a demitasse of strong espresso—or all on their own.

I come from a Hungarian-Czech background, which means I grew up on lots of things with poppy seeds, like poppy seed cakes and poppy seed rolls. I still look forward to visiting my parents in New Jersey during the holidays and getting my annual fix. These portable bars combine my love of lemon desserts, specifically lemon meringue pie, with my culinary heritage. You can make them ahead of time, chill them, and then cut them up at the picnic. They hold together very well and are fun to eat.

These wafer-thin cookies may have been created with Passover in mind, but their shattering crispness and perfume of almonds and lemon make them alluring at any time of year.

The perfect date dessert is one that's interactive: Candied strips of orange peel, fresh raspberries, and crisp almond cookies are all flavorful enough to stand up to a silky dark-chocolate fondue spiked with a shot of warming brandy.

A buttery shortbread with bright lime flavor and a crunchy topping.

Mature ginger is used for drying and grinding, as its flavor is more intense. The skin of the rhizome is removed and the flesh is sun- or machine-dried and then ground to a powder.

Editor's note: This recipe is from chef Wolfgang Puck. My mother would always begin baking in early December and keep it up right through the holidays. But she wasn't working frantically the whole time. She just knew that the earlier you start your holiday baking, the more you'll be free to enjoy the big celebrations. The ingredients in her cookies promote tenderness and retain moisture so that they stand up well to storage for several weeks when properly packed. My mother's Linzer cookies not only stay moist thanks to their ground hazelnuts and raspberry jam, but they actually improve in flavor as their subtle blend of spices matures. They remain one of my favorites.

The coffee and toffee flavors of this crunchy dessert are heightened by the dark brown sugar and espresso powder. This version is an adaptation of Leah Reich’s recipe, which was a variation on her grandmother’s recipe.

Grapefruit and chocolate make a surprisingly delicious pairing. Star anise adds an underlying spiciness to the tender cookies.