Nut Free

This snowflake gets its icy sheen from piped Royal Icing dusted with sanding sugar. You can use this basic recipe to make gingerbread men or other cutout shapes; just alter the baking time if the size of the cutter is different. Decorate each with Royal Icing, candies, sprinkles, and other embellishments, as desired.

This variation on the classic chocolate chip cookie will snap and crumble with every bite. Adding more butter and granulated sugar contributes to the crunch.

These delicate cookies are made with lots of juice and zest for a delightful tang; poppy seeds add crunch. (Poppy seeds can turn rancid quickly, so purchase them from a store with a high turnover and keep them in the freezer.)

Pucker up: This version of the bake-sale favorite is the most intensely lemony one we’ve tried. A generous crown of powdered sugar not only adds to the flavor of these sweet squares, but also makes them easier to stack for storage.

To make these holiday party standbys, you have to first bake a batch of brownies, then break them into bits, flavor them with rum, and roll them into balls. A generous coat of sanding sugar provides a sparkly finish.

A double dose of spice flavors these creamy bar cookies: Chopped candied ginger is mixed into the filling, and crushed gingersnaps compose the crust.

Velvety, delicately tart cream cheese blends well with the more cakey, sugary blondie batter. The resulting bar cookies are remarkably rich and highly habit-forming.

To make the batter for these super-quick brownies, melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan, then stir the other ingredients right in. Set a batch out on a serving platter, and watch it disappear just as quickly.

Children love these two-bite treats. When you prepare them, have a bowl of ice water ready. If reshaping the thumbprint is necessary during baking, dip your finger in the water for several seconds and allow to dry before reshaping. This will keep your finger cool.

A mint ganache filling and a shiny chocolate glaze push these cookies over the top, but feel free to omit the glaze—they’re delectable without it, too.

A thick layer of poured chocolate ganache frosts the top of these wedge-shaped brownies. Sprinkle with tiny heart-shaped candies for your Valentine, change the garnish to suit other occasions, or simply present them unadorned.

Fans of fudgy brownies say this is the recipe of their dreams. In fact, it’s one of our all-time reader favorites. The brownies are versatile, too—they’re equally welcome packed into a picnic basket or stacked atop a cake stand and presented at the end of a dinner party.

Dulce de leche is a popular sweet in Argentina and throughout the rest of South America, where it is also called manjar and leche quemada (“burnt milk”). Store-bought versions are increasingly available in North American supermarkets and specialty foods stores; use it in place of the homemade variety, if desired.

Any sun-kissed berries will work atop the cream cheese filling in these mini chocolate cheesecake cookies.

These bite-size cookies resemble little lemon pies, with a sweet, short crust and a tart cheesecake filling.

While they’re warm, these tuiles are draped over a cannoli mold or a narrow rolling pin to give them their shape. To make edible bowls for serving scoops of ice cream or sorbet, shape the warm cookie rounds over inverted muffin tins or ramekins instead.

These creature-of-the-night creations sandwich a rich dulche de leche filling between chocolate cookies. You will need an aspic cutter to form the bat shapes.

Flaky cream cheese dough is filled with a rich dried-fruit filling, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and baked until golden brown to form these crescents. The prunes are soaked in brandy overnight for the filling, so plan ahead if you’re making them.