Make Ahead

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.

Cocoa powder and chocolate lend rich, fudgy flavor to these twice-baked treats. They are thicker than most biscotti, and perfect for dunking in milk or coffee.

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.

Crunchy coconut biscuits are a Jamaican specialty and are crispest the day they’re baked. To toast coconut, preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread the coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until light golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

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.

Various flavors of jams or preserves can be used to fill these cookies—strawberry, raspberry, and apricot all make lovely accompaniments to hazelnuts. To toast hazelnuts, see note on page 37. Coarsely grind hazelnuts by pulsing them in a food processor; be careful not to overprocess them or you will end up with nut butter.

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.

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.)

Cardamom-flavored cookies are a traditional specialty of the Scandinavian countries. This crisp cracker-like variety is made more crunchy with a topping of finely chopped pistachios and shredded coconut.

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.

Baci di dama, or “lady’s kisses” in Italian, are bite-size chocolate-and-nut cookies with a melted chocolate filling. This flourless variation substitutes almonds for the more common hazelnuts.

Dollops of peanut butter filling are spooned onto brownie batter; pulling a knife back and forth through both results in a marbleized look.

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.

Sweetened condensed milk adds an unmistakable richness to the coconut batter for these swirly treats. When marbleizing the coconut and brownie batters, make sure the butter knife reaches the bottom of the pan.

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.