Cookie

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The brownie is really more like a flourless chocolate cake. It puffs as it bakes, and falls and cracks as it cools.

These cookies are rolled in confectioners' sugar while warm, which gives them a thin buttery frosting.

Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 4 hr (includes cooling)

Cylindrical cookie presses are a fast and convenient way to make uniform intricate shapes. If you prefer something other than a wreath-shaped cookie, change the disk of your press and decorate as desired with colored sugars, nuts, or dragées to create Christmas trees, snowflakes, or poinsettias. The possibilities are endless.

"I literally didn't know how to boil an egg until I was in my 20s — when I tried to impress a guy by making dinner for him," writes Sally Siegel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "I didn't have much success with the dinner or the guy, but I regrouped and put together a repertoire of fairly elegant dishes I felt confident making. Over the years, my cooking style has become more casual; I make dishes that are not too demanding, but still special for company."

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Raspberries taste wonderful with chocolate, and so do hazelnuts. All three flavors unite compatibly in this cake-like brownie.

The dough for these simple cookies can be done ahead and refrigerated for up to two days before being sliced and baked.

These cookies are like bite-size Linzertortes. Instead of being cut into triangles as suggested below, the dough can be cut into whatever other shape is preferred.