Nut Free

You’re guaranteed to get a bit of brown butter–flecked icing in every bite of these pillowy spice cookies. Offer them at a Halloween party or as part of a Thanksgiving dessert buffet.

To say these are memorable is an understatement. A combination of fresh and ground ginger, molasses, and chunks of semisweet chocolate makes the cookies sophisticated enough for adults but chocolaty enough for children.

Thyme serves as a savory counterpoint to these sweet, soft, and chewy tea cookies. Cornmeal and dried currants add additional texture—and flavor.

Incorporating less butter and brown sugar into the batter yields cookies that are thicker and fluffier than other chocolate chip cookies, with just as many chips—and just as much appeal.

The dough for these cookies develops into two distinct textures as it bakes—a soft, chewy center surrounded by a wafer-like shell.

These are like tiny inside-out carrot cakes, with the signature cream cheese frosting on the inside and spiced “cake” on the outside.

A sugar-and butter-rich batter is the foundation for these cookie-jar classics. Just baked, they make a perfect snack on a chilly winter night—or any time.

The long, thin shape of these cookies accounts for their distinctive name in many languages: langues-de-chat in French, lingue di gatto in Italian, and cat’s tongues in English. Serve them as an accompaniment to fruit compote or ice cream.

Timing is key, so have everything you need ready, and start whisking egg whites once the syrup is at a full boil.

Palmiers, sometimes called palm leaves, are made with puff pastry folded several times, then sliced, to create a distinctive heart-shaped coil design. Ginger syrup and spiced sugar make these crisp French cookies festive and fragrant.

Buttery madeleine batter is sweetened with honey and spiced with ground cardamom. Once baked, the mini cakes are glazed with a simple citrus icing.

Just a few of these striped showstoppers make a festive and memorable holiday gift; be sure to package them carefully, as they are very fragile. Bake the cookies two or three at a time, then roll them as they come out of the oven, while they’re still pliable.

Jumbo versions of these iced cookies are a New York City specialty. Deciding where to begin presents the sweetest of dilemmas: chocolate first, or vanilla? Don’t worry if you can’t choose—these petite versions are just the right size to eat in one bite.

A morning treat gains all-day appeal with these cakey chocolate cookies. Like breakfast waffles, the cookies are prepared on a waffle iron. For best results, make sure the surface is nice and hot before you pour the batter.

Made from a batter rich in golden syrup, these cookies rarely contain brandy anymore, although some cooks fill them with freshly whipped cream flavored with a splash of brandy. Lyle’s Golden Syrup, popular in England, is a liquid sweetener made from evaporated cane sugar. Look for it in specialty food shops and large supermarkets.

Rich chocolate ganache and cool peppermint make a merry combination, especially at holiday time. To get stripes on the meringues, you pipe the cookies with a pastry bag painted with red food coloring.

Moist, cakey, and flecked with fresh fruit in every bite, these cookies are just the thing to pack into a picnic basket on a late-summer day.

These very thin, very crisp cookies have a strong mocha flavor with just a hint of orange. It’s important to use Dutch-process cocoa, which is richer and darker than plain cocoa. Dutch-process powder is treated with alkali to help neutralize the cocoa’s natural acidity.

A generous sprinkle of coarse sanding sugar is the only embellishment on these sweet versions of the salty snack.