Electric Mixer

These crisp cookies get their delicate appearance from confectioners' sugar dusted over a lacy doily. For an intense chocolate flavor, use a dark, Dutch-process cocoa, such as Droste or Valrhona.

The perfect amounts of butter and sugar make these adorable cookies completely addictive. For the best flavor, use high-quality pure vanilla extract.

With its cloak of pure chocolate, this buttery cookie is sublime. For the best flavor, use a high-quality pure vanilla extract and the best chocolate you can find — preferably Valrhona. Melting the chocolate in two stages helps keep it at an even temperature — insuring that it will set evenly.

Chrusti
One of our test-kitchen assistants, Herta Guhl, sold us on these Polish fried dough cookies. A little powdered sugar makes them irresistible.

For variety, dip half of the biscotti in melted white chocolate and the other half in dark chocolate. Or, drizzle the melted chocolate over the biscotti instead.

The cake takes its name from the wife of Jack Turner's former headmaster, but the recipe is reportedly an ancient Scottish one. Aluminum foil stands in for the traditional newspaper.

The delicate, refreshing flavor of fresh mint leaves infuses the cream used to make the peppermint filling. You'll need a stand mixer to make the pastry.

For a pretty presentation, dust these cookies lightly with powdered sugar.

The key to delicious Linzer cookies is striking just the right balance of the tart raspberry jam filling with the thin, tender, and slightly sweet cookies. We think we've hit it with these — and they only get better after a few days.

This is a miniature version of a New York favorite: A cakey cookie with sweet half-moons of vanilla and chocolate icing.

Every holiday deserves a really special dessert. And this classic French creation — a large ring of airy choux pastry filled with the richest praline pastry cream — does the season proud. If you think it resembles a bicycle wheel, you're right: It's named after an 1891 bicycle race that ran from Paris to Brest and back again, and was the precursor of the Tour de France.

This recipe makes a lot of dough. If you don't need all of it, freeze the extra. For impromptu entertaining, you can slice the still-frozen dough into cookies and pop them in the oven for a quick dessert.

The recipe for these tender, rich cookies came from a cook who worked for my great-grandmother. They were always a family favorite. Decorate them with sanding sugar or nonpareils.

Loaded with dried fruit, toasted almonds, and bittersweet chocolate, these blondies combine the best of a brownie with what you wish fruitcake could taste like. A terrific addition to any holiday cookie platter, they are also a satisfying stand-alone dessert.

Remarkably easy, but pretty and elegant enough for a dinner party.

Elaine O'Toole of Phoenix, Arizona, writes: "This recipe for chocolate cake is a family favorite at our celebrations all year, but especially during the holidays. It's so rich that my sons eat small squares of it as if they were brownies. And since it can be made ahead, it's a great dessert to take to a party."