3 In Lifestyle

7 Best Christmas Confections

I’ve been saving up recipes for the day when I bake up a storm and send the resulting army of cookies to friends and family who live far away. This day will likely end with me collapsing, giggling my way from a sugar high into a sugar coma.

Edit/2013: Since I first posted this, I have made each and every one of these cookies, all with great results. Not to toot my own horn too much, but the chocolate chip cookie bars are a family tradition and good ANY TIME of the year.

Of all the cookies I hadn’t made when I first posted this, the Chocolate Crinkle Cookies were the most surprisingly delicious. The cookies were the slightest bit crinkly on the outside, giving way to the softest, most delectable center. I could go into so much more description, but I’m not sure your browser could handle the food porn descriptions, so I’ll refrain.

The ultimate test for me is whether a treat can hold up via mail or through an airplane ride, even squeezed into an overstuffed carry-on (not that I would know anything about this, ahem). These all get the thumbs-up from me on both counts.

Bars are a little more durable than cookies, of course, so make your cookies small or thick or both. And it never hurts to wrap each cookie pretty snugly in parchment paper.

Without further ado, here are seven Christmas confections that have passed my test for holiday best.