Move over brownies. The World’s Best Blondies are gaining popularity one bite at a time! A meringue-like top, chewy bottom and really delicious!

Courtesy of Lauren Groveman

These are the appetizer of your dreams, the kind you’d most want with a beverage of choice at the end of a work-week, or sitting outside with friends on a late summer afternoon while dinner cooks on a grill. Or just about anytime you want something both savory and soothing. My only caveat is that these Herbed Cheddar Shortbread cookies are very addictive, so be prepared!

Whenever I think about holiday baking, Russian Tea Cakes (aka Mexican Wedding Cookies) are at the forefront of my mind. What’s not to love about the buttery, crumbly deliciousness of these cookies. with their fragrant toasted nuts and powdered sugar spilling everywhere? Okay, the powdered sugar part can be annoying. What I do love about these cookies is that they’re pretty much popular worldwide with essentially the same ingredients though some come with a few special touches.

I recently found a unique version of these cookies in Sunset Magazine. Created by Yigit Pura of “Tout Sweet Patisserie,” they are noted for their extreme crispness and toasty-brown butter flavor. I also like that they’re made with vanilla bean paste. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon cognac or brandy. Prefer a different alcohol or want to substitute a liqueur? Why not? And, if you don’t want alcohol, you can substitute milk.

Yigit suggests creating cookies 1-1/2 tablespoons each. I personally prefer these cookies smaller because the powdered sugar can be overwhelming with big cookies. Just like the alcohol used, you get to decide on the size you’d like to make the cookies. Just remember to adjust the bake time accordingly.

When it’s cold or stormy outside, it’s so nice to have a warm beverage and a few freshly baked cookies to enjoy while hunkering down and binging on Netflix or reading a book. Frankly, both Gina (our Contessa) and I enjoy having freshly baked cookies on hand whenever we’re in for a long stretch of work on the computer. It’s a nice incentive to keep going. So when I found this recipe for Double Pecan Thumbprint Cookies in the holiday issue of Bon Appetit, I knew it would be our new favorite.  I made a batch for Gina’s birthday in November, sending her over-the-moon.

Does anyone ever really get tired of homemade cookies? Whether it’s a broken heart, a badly stubbed toe, a big disappointment or a bad day at school or work, a couple of cookies with milk, coffee or tea, can make things right again, or at least, a lot better. And, let’s face it: chocolate is a near miracle ingredient for almost everyone. So, when I saw this recipe for Chocolate Whoppers, I knew I had to bake  and share it. Thank you, Donna Maurillo for posting this very chocolatey deliciousness in our local paper!

It’s fun to watch trends come and go and when a particular trend reappears, the recipes using the current ingredient are often uniquely different. For the past eight months I’ve noticed tahini in a large assortment of recipes. However this cookie comes by it honestly as it comes to us from Mamaleh’s, a new incarnation of the classic Jewish Deli, in Cambridge MA. Rachel Sundet, pastry chef at Mamaleh’s claims the honey keeps these shortbread cookies really soft.

This is a great lemon bar recipe – bright, tart-sweet and with a buttery crust with nice vanilla notes. Meyer lemons aren’t quite as tart as Eureka and other American lemon varieties. If you’re using Meyer lemons, you might need a little extra lemon juice.

If you are a ginger snap or spicy cookie fan, look no further. A wonderful contribution to holiday platters, these cookies make great gifts and are perfect for a quiet evening at home, cozied up by the fireplace with a nice cup of tea.

This is a spinoff of the World’s Best Cookies, but worthy of its own recipe. It’s a reliably good cookie, keeps well because of the relatively high-fat level (though they don’t usually last long enough for that to be a problem), and you can switch out white chocolate for milk or dark chocolate, as well as the nuts. Part of the appeal of these cookies is the slight crunch from the cornflakes and slightly chewy thanks to the oats.

These decadent brownies are incredibly moist and fudgy. With the marshmallow, chocolate and walnut topping, they are more like a candy than cookie/brownie bar. Whatever you choose to call them, they are a show stopper and are sure to please a crowd!

Mojito Bars are the adult version of their kid friendly cousin, the Lemon Bar, and will jazz up the dessert table at your late summer night party. Cool and tangy they pack a punch and will delight your guests with their flavorful zest!

Whenever I’ve been fortunate enough to score persimmons, I’ve always made Persimmon Puddings (the word for dessert in the UK but, in the US, it’s actually cake). My mother always made it for Thanksgiving and served it with a lemon sauce instead of a hard sauce. I discovered it was worth “gilding the lily” by serving whipped cream on the side.

Like most of us who were raised on chocolate chip cookies, I’m crazy about them. However, I find a lot of ccc’s boring because they’re a little too bland and sugary. Kind of the “white bread” version. That’s why I like them with toasted oats and nuts.  But what makes these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip  Cookies most interesting is the chocolate. Chocolate chips are fine, but most of the brands contain paraffin so they don’t melt easily and become gooey. If you can find them, I like Guittard’s pistoles or wafers, which are chocolate discs that have a lower melting point and are quite tasty. I chop them coarsely. They come in an extreme milk chocolate at 38% or bittersweet at 66%. Whether chocolate you use, buy the best you can afford, as it really makes a difference.

Madeleines are the quintessential French tea cake, with a mouth-pleasing crisp exterior, and a dense cake-like interior. If you enjoy serving beautiful desserts, it’s worth investing in Madeleine molds, as the molds give them their distinctive hump in the middle and pleasing texture. When you’ve dusted them with powdered sugar, they’re gorgeous and sophisticated.

Here are a couple of “Madeleine secrets.” 

This time of year it’s impossible to miss all the cute Girl Scouts selling their cookies on every corner, and no cookie sells better than the traditional Thin Mints. While the Girl Scouts are starting to offer gluten free options, not all of the girls carry them and they’re not yet available in every variety of cookie. We think these Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Crisps, are a good runner up to this American classic, and when you make them at home you can enjoy them year ’round!

These lightly sweetened macaroons are wonderfully crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Equally delicious dipped in chocolate or served plain.

Oat Squares
Courtesy of June Pagan

Chef June Pagan was legendary in Hollywood circles as she provided the stars with daily meals, glamorous party fare and even delicious emergency diet delights when called upon by the likes of Liz Taylor, Al Pacino, Sally field and Diane Keaton, among many others.

Courtesy of Anne Baldzikowski, Easy Artisan: Simple elegant Recipes for the Everyday Cook

Cacao nibs are broken pieces of the raw cacao bean from which chocolate is made. Toast the nibs like nuts to bring out their flavor. My culinary students give these cookies as thank you gifts when we go on our class field trips.

 What’s not to love about shortbread? Buttery, slightly crunchy, fully satisfying with coffee or tea, in a lunchbox, watching TV, late night treat — in other words, anytime at all!