Fruit

Unsweetened shredded coconut is available in health food stores. You can also use sweetened shredded coconut (reduce the sugar in the recipe from 3/4 cup to 1 tablespoon). For the variations, pair the coconut with chocolate—chips or cocoa powder—to create rich combinations reminiscent of a candy bar.

Blondies are usually baked in a square or rectangular pan and cut into bars. Here we’ve used a springform pan to bake a round that’s then cut into wedges. The familiar flavor is made even more irresistible with the spice of candied ginger, the sweetness of dried pears, and the crunch of pistachios.

Rich cream cheese dough, coconut–cream cheese filling, and a topper of jam make these pinwheels complex—chewy on the outside, creamy in the center. Create a variety of flavors by substituting different fruit jams for the strawberry.

These are like tiny inside-out carrot cakes, with the signature cream cheese frosting on the inside and spiced “cake” on the outside.

For a twist on the traditional French petit fours known as financiers, we baked these cookie “cakes” in mini-muffin tins instead of small rectangular pans. They have a nutty, buttery flavor with floral hints of honey. Tiny raspberry heart decorations make them an appropriate gift for Valentine’s Day.

Buttery madeleine batter is sweetened with honey and spiced with ground cardamom. Once baked, the mini cakes are glazed with a simple citrus icing.

These fruit-and-nut-rich cookies are like soft granola bars; they make a hearty and delicious after-school snack.

Moist, cakey, and flecked with fresh fruit in every bite, these cookies are just the thing to pack into a picnic basket on a late-summer day.

These very thin, very crisp cookies have a strong mocha flavor with just a hint of orange. It’s important to use Dutch-process cocoa, which is richer and darker than plain cocoa. Dutch-process powder is treated with alkali to help neutralize the cocoa’s natural acidity.

For these sandwich cookies, tiny, delicate coconut wafers surround a creamy, sweet-tart, tropical-fruit filling. In a pinch, use prepared lemon curd instead of our homemade passion fruit version.

Three layers of cornmeal shortbread are separated by a chunky cherry-almond filling. Because the flavor of almond extract is so intense, only a tiny amount is needed to flavor the jam for all of the cookies.

These Swiss cookies, sometimes spelled Bräzeli or Bratzeli, are made with a specialty tool much like a waffle iron, but the results are thinner. You can also use a pizzelle iron.

The addition of Earl Gray tea in this recipe gives the cookies the slightest hint of bergamot orange flavoring. Grind the tea leaves in a small food processor or a spice grinder.

During World War I, families Down Under sent cookies to their loved ones in the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). ANZAC Biscuits were made from rolled oats, coconut, and golden syrup; the ingredients, and thus the cookies, would survive the long journey to the troops. The dough for these cookies should be mixed just before baking.

These cookies originated in Spain, but today they are often associated with the American Southwest, particularly New Mexico, where they are the official state cookie. Lard imparts incomparable flavor—it’s worth seeking it out, although vegetable shortening can be substituted.

Crunchy coconut biscuits are a Jamaican specialty and are crispest the day they’re baked. To toast coconut, preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread the coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until light golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Sugar cookies become tangy treats when the batter is enhanced with lime juice and zest. Cut the dough into big daisy-like shapes, and finish the baked cookies with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.

These delicate cookies are made with lots of juice and zest for a delightful tang; poppy seeds add crunch. (Poppy seeds can turn rancid quickly, so purchase them from a store with a high turnover and keep them in the freezer.)

Cardamom-flavored cookies are a traditional specialty of the Scandinavian countries. This crisp cracker-like variety is made more crunchy with a topping of finely chopped pistachios and shredded coconut.

Pucker up: This version of the bake-sale favorite is the most intensely lemony one we’ve tried. A generous crown of powdered sugar not only adds to the flavor of these sweet squares, but also makes them easier to stack for storage.