Holiday diet tactic #142: This stunning cookie tree. Because it sorta makes it harder to demolish a half batch of cookies when doing so would demolish the Christmas tree.

Whether your knack for cookie-decorating leans toward fancy schmancy or basic buttons on gingerbread people, you need a foolproof royal icing. Look no more.

Dark, hearty molasses gingerbread cookies or pale, sweet honey gingerbread cookies? Your choice. (Hint: You can’t go wrong.)

Christmas eating is mostly about the cookies, we think. Pull out your favorite cookie cutters and sparkliest sprinkles because it’s that time of year!

A holiday cookie if we ever saw one! So buttery, so nutty, so delicate, so mind-bendingly charming, these traditional Viennese cookies rival the city’s fancier pastries as our fave.

There’s a bit of France in these cookies, which evoke all the familiar flavors of the traditional pain d’epice bread in a far more festive form.

This beauty of a biscotti may seem a descendant of sorts from fruitcake, though it boasts a heck of a lot more allure than its stodgy ancestor.

An uber chocolatey truffle made with salted caramel might sound like something for expert chocolatiers but fear not. This recipe is nearly foolproof.

These chewy hermit bars are a revelation. They’re wonderfully spicy, plumped with raisins, and amazingly chewy–even fudge-like.

These butter and cream cheese pastries are filled with cinnamon-sugared nuts, a slick of jam, currants, and a handful of chopped chocolate.