They are home, they are family, they are friends, they bring comfort, they fill a need. It is amazing that all of these things can be wrapped up into a single cookie!

"All you need is love. But a cookie now and then doesn't hurt." - Snoopy

The cookie has a long history!

In medieval Europe, bakers used small amounts of cake batter to test the heat of their ovens. These "test cakes" would bake quickly, allowing the bakers to determine if the oven was ready for larger batches of bread or cakes.

These small test cakes were the early ancestors of modern cookies, called "koekje" in Dutch.

As most of you know, the word koek comes from the Middle Dutch word, koke, and that Koekje is a diminutive.

Koekje is the word meaning "little cake" and the origin of our favorite daily word, cookie.

"Cookies are made of butter and love." - Norwegian proverb

German, Dutch, and Scandinavian immigrants brought holiday cookies like gingerbread, springerle, and speculaas to the Americas. Baking together was often a family or community event, especially before the rise of mass-produced desserts.

"Home is where the cookies are." - Anonymous

By the 1920s and 1930s, American households, church groups, women's clubs, and community centers began organizing holiday cookie exchanges and baking days, particularly as part of charity work or festive gatherings.

"Make cookies - not war." - Anonymous

In post-World War II, in the 1950s and '60s, the suburban boom and emphasis on domestic entertaining led to the rise of the "cookie exchange party" or "cookie swap," with magazines featuring recipes and ideas for hosting.

"In the cookie of life, friends are the chocolate chips." - Anonymous

Women (homemakers of the time) would each bake a large batch of one type of cookie, come together and swap with others, so everyone went home with a variety of cookies.

"Today I will live in the moment. Unless it's unpleasant, in which case I will eat a cookie." - attributed to Cookie Monster

Today, cookie parties can take on all forms. From bringing already made to share or sharing the making and the baking.

"You can't be sad when you're holding a cookie." - Paula Deen

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This recipe comes from my Mom. Though I expect it is similar to many others. My niece said that she always doubled the recipe.

We have always thought my Moms'were the best. Even when her sisters made them with the same recipe....

See the Viennese Crescents Recipe here!

Sugar cookies are super easy to make, a blast to shape and quick to bake. You can eat them straight, or dress them up with pretty sugar, frosting, chocolate or jam. This is a versatile, simple crisp sugar cookie recipe to which you can add cinnamon, cardamom or another spice of your choice.

See the Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe here!

I like these better with the almond flour than the ones made with AP flour.

See the GF Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe here!

No chemicals or nasty synthetic imitations here. Only the best organic vanilla beans are used for cold extraction and this unique aging process. The result? A true vanilla aroma and the purest taste imaginable.

This versatile Bourbon vanilla extract is perfect for all your baking needs. Whenever a recipe calls for vanilla extract or essence, turn to this amazing double-strength vanilla. Freshly harvested each year, this bourbon vanilla extract tastes like vanilla and smells more like a bean than alcohol.

This is double-strength vanilla (two-times the vanilla flavor or less diluted than 1X), it contains no sugar, and is wheat-free.

Double fold extract has 37% alcohol. Using a whey alcohol, this ethanol has no allergens. It is free from dairy and wheat, and has a less offensive alcohol odor.

Shop now Tonga Bourbon Vanilla Extract 2X here!

This easy and classic cookie is fabulous year round and dressed up with fancy sugar for the holidays! Plan to make the dough the day before and then chill overnight.

See the Chocolate Cocoa Crinkle Cookies Recipe here!

A proprietary blend of rice and potato starches, rice and soy flours, sugar, thickeners, and dietary fiber, Caputo is a naturally Italian gluten-free flour blend. It is crafted carefully to produce the finest quality bread and pizza crusts.

Molino Caputo has always strived to provide value to the great tradition of Italian cuisine, from pizza to desserts to breads to dough. They are always focused on producing a simple and high-quality product.

Mulino di Napoli mixes high-quality Italian wheat from Umbria, Marche and other Italian regions to obtain the base of Caputo flour products. Later they mix it with wheats from the North of Europe, particularly from France, Germany, and Finland.

They follow a slow grinding process that permits them to produce very high-quality flours that preserve the starch, the organoleptic properties and, most importantly, the authentic flavor. The end result of this traditional process is 100% natural, without the use of artificial enzymes or extra additives.

Elasticity: Medium-high.

Shop now for Caputo Italian Gluten Free Flour!

This finely ground wheat flour from Italy, has a little more gluten than the Caputo Pizza Flour (a smart choice for those looking to make thin crust pizza!). Also can work for cakes and pastries, although generally you would be looking for a little less gluten (8-10%) when making pastries to get a gentle flake. The fine ground works well to get that light crumb on cakes.

12-13% dry gluten content - and designed for home ovens and longer fermentation times.

Shop now for Caputo "00" Chef's Flour!

Eating Feuilletine Flakes by the handful is like the best cookie ever, but not quite. By adding luxurious hazelnut creme from Andrea Slitti and a bunch of fabulous chocolate you get a cookie that has just about everything you might want, since it is like a great candy bar!

See the Feuilletine Flakes Hazelnut Creme Cookie Recipe here!

Also known as Paillete Feuilletine™, these Crepes Dentelles crumbs are a hard-to-find pastry crunch and are normally only found in commercial kitchens.

As Tina said, in Food & Wine Magazine,

"Add these buttery, toasty-sweet shards to ganache, frostings and truffles for a super crunch."

Called for in classic French recipes, these pastry flakes are a common ingredient when making Praline Feuillete or filling for Praline.

Note that Paillete Feuilletine Flakes are delicate and are naturally small and crumbly.

Shop now for Feuilletine Flakes - Pastry Crunch here!

When I asked Jodi for a recipe she had a lot of ideas. We are old friends and we talk about food at least half the time, the other half of the time about houses. This time of year she makes cookies, and every year they seem to be better than the last.

Jodi: "The hazelnut ones are new this year, they were even better when they were crisp and don't even need the chocolate. My new fave. I love making cookies. These Mexican Wedding Cakes (it's a cookie) are my all time favorite.

"I got them mostly from Rose's Christmas something or other...I have to look. Which ones did you like?"

Me: "I don't know, all of them? I ate half of them already."

Also known as: Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Snowballs, Italian Wedding Cakes, Butterballs, Polvorones, Kourabiedes, Melting Moments, Snowdrops.

Crazy right? The term "Mexican Wedding Cakes" became popular in the U.S. in the mid-20th century, possibly replacing "Russian Tea Cakes" during the Cold War due to political tensions. The recipe remained the same — only the name changed.

See the Mexican Wedding Cakes Recipe here!

This incredible powdered cane sugar used to be only available in bulk and sold to commercial kitchens. Twice as fine as regular powdered sugar, it is designated XX (as opposed to supermarket X). Your final product will be unbelievably smooth, and very, very glossy. India Tree powdered cane sugar makes remarkable royal icing and fondant fillings for candy.

When you use it, you know right away it is special. This is good stuff!

Shop now for India Tree Powdered Fondant & Icing Sugar!

Crazy easy to make - these are little drops of a cookie.

See the Almond Macaroons Recipe here!

The Christmas love of peppermint and red-and-white themes. Candy cane pieces, peppermint extract, and chocolate make them seasonally perfect.

See the Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipes here!

These delicious French candied orange peels are neither too sweet nor too stiff, and they're perfect for a whole host of applications.

Use them as-is to dip in your favorite dark chocolate couverture for a wonderful treat.

Or, you can dice them up and use them in an array of baked goods and confections; from cookies and cakes, to puddings and tarts. Classic bitter orange flavor, and nicely coated with inverted sugar, so they don't stick together.

And you can eat them right out of the bag!

Shop now for French Candied Orange Peel!