Nut Free

These crisp, lemony sugar cookies will lend a touch of whimsy to a spring bridal or baby shower, but you can enjoy them anytime—rain or shine.

These Swiss cookies, sometimes spelled Bräzeli or Bratzeli, are made with a specialty tool much like a waffle iron, but the results are thinner. You can also use a pizzelle iron.

The biscuits for these sandwich cookies are ultrathin, crisp, and downright chic. And since they’re not terribly sweet, they marry well with the milk chocolate filling. In a pinch, use store-bought chocolate-hazelnut spread—it’s also divine.

The addition of Earl Gray tea in this recipe gives the cookies the slightest hint of bergamot orange flavoring. Grind the tea leaves in a small food processor or a spice grinder.

Loaded with a big cocoa flavor, these bonbons are surprisingly small in stature, each just larger than a quarter. This is a good cookie to bake in a pinch because it’s likely you’ll have the few ingredients on hand. But be aware that the cookies need about 2 hours in the oven.

Crisp, sugar-dusted leaves and acorns celebrate the autumn months, but these cookies can be made any time of year. Cut them into other shapes and sizes if you wish. Score them with a paring knife to add stylized details and adjust the baking time if the size of the cutter is different.

To ensure uniform cookies, scoop out this batter with a measuring spoon. Leave adequate space between dollops—the cookies will expand considerably while they bake. If desired, embellish the cooled cookies with melted chocolate: Sandwich two cookies with it, dip cookie halves in it, drizzle it over the tops, or spread it on the flat sides of each.

White chocolate ganache fills these sandwich cookies, which are finished with a drizzle of melted white chocolate. Pipe heart shapes, letters, or other designs on top of each for a personalized gift.

These leaf-shaped chrusciki (khroost-CHEE-kee) are adapted from Martha’s mother’s classic Polish recipe. The dough is kneaded for a while, to incorporate lots of air into it and keep the finished cookies light and delicate. If you’re storing fried cookies, wait until just before serving to dust them with confectioners’ sugar.

These all-purpose cutouts are dark and rich, they keep well, and the dough can be rolled again and again without any compromise in texture or flavor. We decorated ours with nonpareils before baking, but you could decorate them after baking with Royal Icing instead—see the recipe on page 241.

Sugar cookies are buttery classics, with a nice crunch. They are delicious on their own, but they also make ideal holiday cookies when festively decorated with Royal Icing. Try customizing the dough to your own taste with an addition such as finely grated lemon zest, a bit of brandy, or a hint of cinnamon.

These cookies originated in Spain, but today they are often associated with the American Southwest, particularly New Mexico, where they are the official state cookie. Lard imparts incomparable flavor—it’s worth seeking it out, although vegetable shortening can be substituted.

These sparkle-edged treats gain flavor from a hefty dose of instant espresso powder, along with a bit of ground black pepper and cinnamon. Don’t be tempted to substitute instant coffee for the espresso powder—the flavor and texture will not be as good.

To make these buttery treats, we fashioned 6-inch lengths of dough into twisted rope shapes. You could also form the lengths into pretzel shapes and sprinkle them with coarse sanding sugar before baking.

Sugar cookies become tangy treats when the batter is enhanced with lime juice and zest. Cut the dough into big daisy-like shapes, and finish the baked cookies with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

Crème de cassis is a black currant-flavored liqueur. Chambord, a raspberry-flavored liqueur, makes a fine substitute.

Once you taste one of these sweet whole wheat crackers, you may never go back to the store-bought variety again. Use them as the base for homemade s’mores, sandwich them with peanut butter, or simply enjoy them on their own.

These luminescent sugar cookies have “windows” that begin as bits of hard candy. To make a template, draw a tree or other simple shape onto card stock or a thin plastic sheet, and cut it out. Place the cutout on rolled-out cookie dough, and cut around it with a paring knife. Alternatively, use cookie cutters (wide shapes work best).