Cookies & Small Pastries

More than any other type of baking, making cookies always fills me with a sense of peace and well-being. Perhaps it stems from the fact that many cookies give off a “holiday” scent—that buttery mixture of spices, brown sugar, and perhaps a hint of rum—while baking.

Cookies are, of course, popular also because, with few exceptions, they are among the fastest and easiest homemade baked items to prepare. Most cookie doughs or batters are quickly mixed and, if the quantity is not too large, equally quick to bake.