Cookie

In 1933, Ruth Wakefield of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, chopped up some chocolate bars and added the chunks to cookie dough, hoping that they would blend into the dough as they melted. Instead they held their shape, and Toll House cookies were a delicious creation. By the 1940s they were a hit.

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 5 hr (includes chilling)

Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 3 hr (includes cooling)

These cookies are absolutely delicious made with regular butter, but they become downright amazing with Plugrá or Land O Lakes Ultra Creamy.

On Valentine's Day, it would be hard to beat these lovely treats. Good news: You can begin pre-paring them a day ahead.

Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr (includes cooling)

The yield for these cutouts varies depending on the size and shape of the cookie cutters you use. We chose 4- to 5-inch cutters for the cookies on the cover, which makes the yield much smaller and increases the baking time by a few minutes. Active time: 2 hr Start to finish: 4 hr (includes decorating)

These brownies can be fudgy or cakey depending on how long you bake them.

These biscotti are equally delicious made with roasted almonds, pecans, or hazelnuts in place of the cashews.

This cookie launched a thousand memories—and a literary masterpiece—for Marcel Proust. The group enjoys madeleines with tea, just as the narrator did in Swann's Way.

When we were taking our baby steps as chefs, one of our favorite teachers was Lydia, queen of the soup pots at the Strathallen Hotel in Rochester, New York. She grew up in Austria, so, of course, she knew plenty about baking. When we got to work in the morning, we'd taste that day's "zoop" (as she'd say in her strong accent), then watch as she demonstrated family baking recipes like this one. Grating the frozen shortbread dough into the baking pan gives it a lighter, more open texture; adding a middle layer of raspberry jam makes it stunningly delicious. For a chocolate-raspberry shortbread, substitute 1 cup cocoa for 1 cup of the flour.

Essentially, these are old-fashioned sugar cookies all dressed up for the holidays. If you want to use icing for decoration, follow the directions for the icing in the New England Molasses Gingerbread Cookies recipe.

"I eat right most of the time, but every once in a while I treat myself to a few of these melt-in-your-mouth cookies," writes Donna Staley of San Diego, California. "They're my version of an old-fashioned refrigerator cookie."

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min