Gingerbread Cookies

Orange and lemon zests make this recipe, from Bill Yosses, the former White House pastry chef, especially delicious, if you plan on eating your gingerbread house (and you can, even weeks after baking). But feel free to leave them out. We strongly recommend using a scale here. It will make it much easier to accurately measure the ingredients and to evenly divide the dough. This recipe, for the house's building blocks, is large, and it makes enough for the project featured in our <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/guides/47-how-to-make-a-gingerbread-house">How to Make a Gingerbread House guide</a>. But as the instructions state, you'll want to make it in two batches, since it's too big for the average stand mixer. Note that you'll want to bake your gingerbread at least a few days before assembling the house, to give the slabs time to harden, and set aside a few hours for decoration and assembly.

David Lebovitz's headily spiced cake, which Amanda Hesser wrote about in The Times in 1999, calls for a quarter-pound of fresh ginger. Mr. Lebovitz, who was a pastry chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., has since had a long career as a cookbook author and blogger. But this recipe, from his cookbook “Room for Dessert,” is from relatively early in his writing career. Boldly flavored with just cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and, yes, a lot of fresh ginger, it is simplicity exemplified, coming together quickly and without a mixer. The cake — much like the recipe itself — ages well, its flavors melding and deepening over time.

You may have memorized the foolproof gem on the back of the Toll House bag, given to the world by Ruth Graves Wakefield in the 1930s. But this may become your new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s a little more complicated, and you’ll have to plan ahead: After assembling the dough, you must chill it for at least 24 hours before baking it, and preferably up to 36. This allows the dry ingredients time to soak up the wet ones, which results in a firmer dough. It leads to a marvelously chewy, chocolate-rich cookie. Don’t skimp on good chocolate, and the sea salt is not an option — it’s the beacon at the top of this gorgeous treat. (You can certainly put this recipe together by hand, but a stand mixer makes it easy work. If you’re in the market for one, our colleagues at The Wirecutter have tested quite a few, and they've put together <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-stand-mixer/">an excellent guide to the best</a>.)

Everyone raves about these soft gingerbread cookies! Even people who don't love molasses cookies or gingersnaps ask for this easy gingerbread cookie recipe! 

These orange gingerbread cookies are the perfect winter dessert! They are crispy on the outside with a soft and chewy center, and they are brimming with warm spicy flavors. The orange zest in the cookie and orange juice in the icing breathe new life into this classic dessert by adding a hint of their bright and tangy taste!

The easiest, most perfect looking chocolate chip cookies you will ever make. These cookies are made in one bowl and don't even require a mixer. They are the classic chocolate chip cookie we all know and love. This is going to be your new go to recipe!

Chewy, gooey, and crunchy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with flavor and will surely become your new favorite cookie recipe! No mixer required.

There is nothing more magical than a gooey-centered, crispy-edged chocolate chip cookie. What makes this particular recipe especially enchanting is the inclusion of brown butter. It mixes right into the dry ingredients, infusing the batter with its nutty flavor without the need for a mixer or any other special equipment. An optional dash of cinnamon has a warmth that feels like a hug, and the brown sugar gives you that chew with a slight molasses taste. Whether for a holiday or an afternoon snack, these cookies may become your go-to.