Cookie is such a delightful word. Simply saying it makes you feel good. “Too-tie” my grandson Lucas used to say, before he got the hang of the letters.

It’s interesting that we call these little morsels cookies instead of biscuits, like the British do. The Romance languages, too, use a version of “biscuit.” But our cookie comes from the Dutch word koekje, which means little cake.

But why am I writing about cookies and why now?

Because an extremely challenging year is drawing to a close, with so many issues still up in the air and no sense of when or if they’ll be resolved. For going on two years now, there’s been a feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

A man recently scolded me for saying cookies are a good thing.

“We have an epidemic of obesity in this country!” he said, adding that indulges such as cookies are the source of the problem.

I disagree. Just the word makes us smile, and so does a nibble or two.

It’s almost Christmas. Have a cookie.

In this traditional shortbread, tangerine zest adds flavor and aroma, creating a softly perfumed cookie. If your Christmas stocking always had a tangerine in it, these cookies will whisk you back to those early Christmas mornings.

8 ounces butter, preferably organic, cut into cubes and chilled

Grated zest of 2 to 3 tangerines

Put the sugar and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse several times. Add the butter and pulse until the sugar and butter are smoothly blended. Add the zest and vanilla and pulse again. Add the flour and pulse, stopping two or three times to scrape the work bowl with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is evenly mixed and crumbly.

Cover your work surface with wax paper or parchment and transfer the mixture to it. Use your hands to press the dough together, then knead it gently until it just holds together. Wrap it tightly and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Divide the dough in half and press each half into an 8-inch tart pan, an 8-inch cake pan or an 8-inch glass pie pan. Set on the top rack of the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. Rotate the pans so the shortbread cooks evenly and continue to cook for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the shortbread just barely shows a little color.

Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Use a sharp knife to cut into wedges, carefully remove from the containers and enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for several days.

When it comes to ginger, I feel the way a lot of people feel about garlic: There is no such thing as too much.

¾ cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups ginger sugar (see Note below) or granulated sugar

Put the butter into a medium mixing bowl and beat vigorously until smooth, creamy and pale. Add the fresh ginger and 1 cup of the sugar and mix until smooth. Beat in the egg, molasses and vanilla. Cover and chill the dough for an hour or 2.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, dry ginger, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and mix with a fork. Add the dry mixture to the egg mixture and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined; do not overmix.

Put the remaining sugar in a medium bowl.

Roll the dough into small balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Drop 3 or 4 balls into the bowl of sugar and agitate the bowl to coat the balls thoroughly.

Set the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, placing them about 2 to 2 ½ inches apart. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges of the cookies have begun to brown and the centers are still soft.

Remove from the oven, let rest a couple minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool to room temperature.

Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days.

Note: To make ginger sugar, fill a quart canning jar about two-thirds full with granulated sugar. Add several thin slices of fresh ginger, seal the jar and shake it vigorously. Shake several times a day for several days, use tongs to remove the ginger and store the sugar, tightly sealed, in the pantry. Use as needed.

These cookies have a strong kick, with layers of heat. Few kids will like them, hence their name.

1½ cups butter, at room temperature

2 whole large eggs or 4 egg yolks, beaten until smooth and pale

1 teaspoon finely ground white pepper

1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

2 teaspoons mustard flour, such as Colman’s

1 teaspoon chipotle powder, ground cayenne or other ground hot chile

Red-hot Sugar (see Note below)

Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer or a heavy-duty whisk, mix until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and fresh ginger and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, mustard, ground ginger and cayenne. Add the flour mixture, one half at a time, to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Press the dough into a ball, wrap it tightly and chill for at least 2 hours.

To make the cookies, remove the dough from the refrigerator 30 minutes before rolling it out.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces. Use the palms of your hands to roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface until you have 3 ropes, each about 1¼ inches in diameter. With a very sharp knife, slice the dough ropes into ⅜-inch-thick rounds and set them about 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Mix the egg white with 2 tablespoons of water. Lightly brush the surface of each cookie with the mixture and sprinkle the Red-hot Sugar on top. Bake for 7 - 9 minutes, until the cookies just barely begin to color. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Note: To make 1 cup Red-hot Sugar, combine 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon (or more, to taste) cayenne and place in a container with a lid. Add several drops of red food coloring, close the container and shake it until the sugar is evenly colored. Repeat until the sugar is the desired shade of red. Colored sugar will keep indefinitely in a tightly sealed container.

The first recipe I ever followed, when I was 7 or 8, was for butterscotch brownies, sometimes called blondies. These many decades later, I am still making them, though they have evolved. Back when I used the recipe in “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys & Girls,” there was no fresh ginger, not in the recipe nor in the markets where my mother shopped. Now it’s a widely available staple.

1 tablespoon plus ¼ cup unsalted butter

White pepper in a mill

1 cup packed light brown sugar

¾ cup lightly toasted and chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Coat the inside of a 9-inch square pan with the tablespoon of butter. Set aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and kosher salt in a small bowl. Add several turns of white pepper, mix with a fork and set aside.

Put the butter in a small saucepan set over very low heat and, when it is melted, stir in the sugar.

Put the egg in a medium mixing bowl and whisk vigorously until it is light and creamy. Fold in the butter mixture, ginger and vanilla.

Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture and the nuts, if using. Pour into the buttered baking pan, using a spatula to remove all the batter from the mixing bowl.

Sprinkle the salt flakes over the batter and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until lightly browned on top but still a tad soft in the center.

Remove from the heat, cool slightly, cut into squares and finish cooling on a rack.

Store, covered, at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “The Good Cook’s Book of Salt & Pepper.” Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.

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