Cookie

Sue Shadley of Indianapolis, Indiana, says that the biscotti from The Bakehouse in Bloomington are addictive. These can be baked three weeks ahead and frozen, making them an ideal Christmas gift.

The dough for these simple cookies can be done ahead and refrigerated for up to two days before being sliced and baked.

Grissini, long, thin breadsticks, are found at Italian markets and some supermarkets.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Executive editor Barbara Fairchild has a reputation as the staff chocoholic, so it's no surprise that her kitchen gift for the holidays is a big batch of brownies. A tried-and-true recipe from her mother, these treats are rich and very moist.

These cookies are like bite-size Linzertortes. Instead of being cut into triangles as suggested below, the dough can be cut into whatever other shape is preferred.

This dough produces a crisp cookie with oats for added texture.

A drizzle of white chocolate makes these Italian cookies holiday ready. For what it's worth, it's equally good on a classic almond biscotti, too.

In England, these crisp raisin-flecked treats are called Madeira biscuits-biscuit being the British word for cookie, and a glass of Madeira being a favorite accompaniment for this particular type.

I made these cookies for my son's class at school as part of France's annual week of taste, or semaine du gout. The idea was to show how sweet and salty flavors complement each other.