Make Ahead

Stack the deck in your favor by baking these unbeatable treats for your next get-together. Bourbon lends a pleasant bite that counteracts the sweet flavor of the currants. Other whiskeys can be substituted, if desired.

To decorate, drizzle melted white chocolate over each cookie with a spoon, or use a resealable plastic bag with a snipped corner.

If you’re in a hurry, you can simplify this recipe by using a high-quality, chunky store-bought jam in place of the homemade fig filling.

To make it easy to form these bow-shaped cookies, fill the pastry bag with dough in small batches; pipe two loops and then two tails rather than trying to pipe one continuous bow. Be sure all parts are touching so they bake together into one big cookie.

At holiday time, package some of these buttery, nut-edged beauties in a pretty glass jar as a gift. The slice-and-bake dough can be shaped into logs and frozen for up to two weeks.

We can’t seem to get enough of the flavor of sour cherries in our test kitchen. Here they are generously added to a dough rich with bittersweet chocolate and cocoa. The result is a deep, dark, utterly delicious cookie with unexpected tartness in every bite.

Green pistachios and red cranberries combine to make a cookie perfect for Christmas. Cornmeal gives these biscotti an extra crumbly and sandy texture, while the dried cranberries add a chewy element.

Pastry-like in texture and appearance, these cookies pair the intense sweetness of dates with the delicate flavor of almonds. The filling is enhanced by fresh orange zest and juice, as well as orange-flower water; look for the latter in specialty foods shops and Middle Eastern markets.

Unlike many crumbly cookies, these biscotti are sturdy enough to mail. For a holiday gift, send a batch along with a pound of your favorite coffee beans.

Cream-Filled Chocolate Sandwiches If you like, roll the sides of the filled cookies in crushed candy canes or finely chopped nuts. The dough can be made ahead and chilled, wrapped well in plastic, for up to one week or frozen for up to one month; let thaw completely before proceeding with the recipe.

These oversize sweets don’t need any mix-ins or frostings—their bold chocolate flavor says it all. In addition to butter, this recipe calls for melted vegetable shortening, which produces an unbeatable texture. (Melted unsalted butter can be substituted for the shortening, if desired.)

It’s no wonder kids adore these bar cookies. A gooey topping spills over a base filled with butterscotch chips, miniature marshmallows, chocolate chunks, and—as if that weren’t enough—melted caramels.

The six ingredients called for here come together in a delightful cookie. Pistachios and lemon juice make a great flavor combination, and the egg white gives a soft texture.

Matzo is an unleavened bread, made with flour and water and traditionally served during Passover; matzo farfel is made from dried noodles that are broken into small pieces. Both can be found in kosher sections of grocery stores. Vegetable oil is used in place of butter, to keep the cookies nondairy.

A filling made with sweetened pureed berries, heavy cream, and white chocolate is tucked between two vanilla-bean cookies.

Oversize and dense with chocolate chips, raisins, and pecans, these chunky treats might just be the ultimate cookies. The recipe has been a staff favorite since it first appeared in Martha Stewart Living in 1990.

Some claim that macaroons were first made in Venice during the Renaissance, gaining their name from the Italian maccherone, or “fine paste.” Others say that the original recipe came from a monastery in France. Whatever its origin, the combination of almond paste, sugar, and egg whites produces a cookie with a crackly outer layer and a chewy center

In one batch, find the flavors of two bakery classics: chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. Chopped walnuts and rolled oats add texture and more layers of taste. Use a ripe banana, which has more concentrated flavor, and is easier to mash, than an unripe one.

A glass of milk is the ideal accompaniment to these drop cookies. Besides white chocolate, the cookies are also chockablock with oats, coconut, golden raisins, and walnuts.

Toasted wheat germ and a generous amount of raisins make these cookies hearty. You can substitute an equal measure of dried cranberries, sour cherries, or chopped apricots for the raisins. To make oatmeal–chocolate chunk cookies, substitute 12 ounces good-quality chocolate, coarsely chopped, for the raisins.