Cookie

If you spend one afternoon in the kitchen, there will be cookies for everyone on your list. You'll need at least a four-quart bowl to mix the large amount of dough.

These not-too-sweet cookies are based on an old recipe seldom seen these days. Although the combination of almonds, honey and cinnamon is still a typical one, contemporary Neapolitan biscotti tend to be less aggressively flavored.

Rich chocolate cookies get some Mexican flair when spiced up with cinnamon, cloves and cayenne pepper. Blanched almonds or pistachios can be used instead of cherries.

Peanut butter cookies are an all-American classic, and the inclusion of honey, oats and chocolate chunks in this recipe makes for a terrific interpretation.

For the crispiest cookies, slice the dough no thicker than a half inch. The biscotti keep well and look great wrapped in tinted cellophane tied with a silk ribbon or raffia, or packed into pretty holiday bags.

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.

Only half of the praline is used in the dessert; the rest will make a nice topping for ice cream, frozen yogurt or stewed fruit.

For a more delicate cookie, chop the raisins instead of adding them whole (most easily done with an oiled knife).

Serve with a watermelon, kiwi fruit and grape salad. You can save any leftovers for an afternoon snack with coffee.

Although they are baked, these intensely chocolaty bar cookies resemble fudge more than brownies. To retain the creamy texture, keep them in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to a week. If the bars are refrigerated, their texture will become more dense.

These delicate crisps resemble rolled tuiles. Using an offset spatula makes spreading the batter much easier.

Unlike the topping on German chocolate cake, which is soft and gooey, the coconut-pecan crust on this cake-like brownie is baked, making it crisp.

Apricot and berry jams are especially nice filling for these cookies.