Christmas Cookies

"Transcendent" is how the author describes these rugelach. We'd like to add "flaky," "tender," and "perfect" to the list of apt adjectives.

Tender and delicate and buttery and spectacularly simple, just as classic shortbread cookies ought to be.

Forget Pepperidge Farm. Where’s the satisfaction in just ripping the bag open? Where's the longing that comes with anticipation? Right here with these homemade Milanos.

Because mom loves flowers, sweets, and beautifiul things. Can you just imagine these delicate little lovelies strewn across her fave cake?!

These flaky French pastries are dainty, diminutive, and irresistible as can be (typed while licking the sugar from our fingers).

Cloudy with a chance of sprinkles. That's our forecast for anyone who wishes to recreate the sugar cookies of their childhood.

Who could possibly say no when offered one of these homemade and inebriating edibles? Certainly not us.

At last, after literally years of searching, we have the perfect DIY natural food coloring recipe. No preservatives. No artificial coloring. No monumental price tag.

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

Magically delicate and nuanced cookies that satisfy the little kid cookie craving in an adult sorta way.

Wowsers! (We can't really think of anything else to say about these stunning cookies, except they're far easier to make than you'd expect.)

This sneaky sable, a French shortbread of sorts that's crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, is going to rock your world.

True to their name, these little lovelies practically snap when you take a nibble. We love truth in advertising.

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.

What exactly is a snow cookie? It's a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth moment of loveliness, and it's as easy to roll, bake, and decorate as it is to admire--and devour.

Whoever first thought to beat sugar and egg whites into pillowy peaks has our gratitude. So does author Annie Rigg for thinking to swirl in cocoa and cinnamon.

It's no surprise that a traditional Scandinavian cookie would be warming. Chalk it up to an inspired melding of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, and cocoa.

The cutest, sweetest, happiest gingerbread people ever, right? They also happen to be the fastest, cheapest, unfussiest gingerbread cookies we've encountered.

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.