Cookie

"My grandmother, who emigrated from Sweden to the United States when she was a little girl, passed on to our family a taste for cardamom," writes Lisa Tracy of Marion, Iowa.

"Every Christmas, my grandmother's best friend, Mrs. Mack, would give me and each of my brothers just one of these cookies, large and exquisitely decorated," writes Wendy Phillips Kahn of New York, New York. "I would save mine for days and then nibble carefully to make it last. Today, it seems a little decadent to make a whole batch, yet my daughter and I love the excuse to use our extensive collection of cookie cutters, and then enjoy painting our reindeer, Christmas trees, bells, birds, and snowmen, complete with jaunty ribbons around their hats. They may not be as elegant as Mrs. Mack's, but they're a colorful highlight in gift boxes of treats." Note: One of our readers alerted us to a problem with the cover recipe for cinnamon cookies in our December 2000 issue. We forgot the eggs! In order to make the cookies properly, add 2 lightly beaten eggs after beating together the butter and sugar, mix until blended, then follow the rest of the recipe. We apologize to Mrs. Mack, Wendy Phillips Kahn, and all of our readers for this oversight. These cookies are truly delicious, and we hope that you enjoy them.

You can use the more traditional orange flower water or rose water instead of the orange peel and juice concentrate to flavor these crispy cookies.

Offer sliced peaches with these cookies. Store the crescents in a shallow airtight container.

"This recipe is adapted from one in the great book Classic Home Desserts, by Richard Sax," says Alexa Reber of Sterling, Massachusetts. "I created it for my mother — she loves maple above all other flavors. It is almost as wonderful as she is." Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 55 min

One of our editors, who was raised in the Midwest, was eager to share her grandmother's recipe for fruit cookies. Although this cookie doesn't look particularly Christmasy, it's apparently a venerable family tradition.

Call them galettes sucrees, mandelbrot, or biscotti — I love these Moroccan cookies, made by Rosette Toledano of Netanya, who, as her daughter says, "puts her heart in her cooking."

Fill these with sorbet and/or sliced fresh fruit.

These chewy cookies are great with ice cream, espresso or a glass of Marsala.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Sardinia, Italy Diamond-shaped papassinas are especially good with a cup of coffee. The flavor of these cookies gets even better after a few days.

A bowl of fresh fruit and some mixed nuts would be very nice go-withs here.