Margaret Chen 
Margaret Chen · October 10, 2026
The first time I made nastar, I pulled forty-two tarts out of the oven, let them cool twenty minutes, and watched the bottoms of every single one go translucent and limp. My pineapple jam was too wet. I had cooked it like an American jam — thick enough to spread on toast — when it … Read more
Margaret Chen · October 10, 2026
People find this site searching for “filled oatmeal cookie recipe for sale,” and until now they landed on a recipe post that never mentioned the word “sale” again. That is my fault, so let me fix it. Selling cookies from home is legal in every US state under some version of a cottage food law, … Read more
Margaret Chen · July 13, 2026
Introduction to Regional American Holiday Cookies The enchanting aroma of holiday baking, while a universal sign of the season, takes on a distinctly regional character as you traverse the diverse culinary landscape of the United States. Beyond the universally loved sugar cookies and gingerbread men, many states proudly feature signature holiday cookies that tell a story of their unique … Read more
Margaret Chen · July 10, 2026
I have a confession. After fifteen years of baking and recipe testing, I’ve noticed something that nobody wants to say out loud: a lot of people really don’t like raisins in their oatmeal cookies. It started small. A friend would hand one back to me with a sheepish smile and say, “Could you maybe make … Read more
Margaret Chen · July 10, 2026
Every week, someone emails me asking if my Moroccan orange blossom fekkas recipe is the same as a “Moroccan sugar cookie.” The answer is no—not even close. I understood the confusion at first, but after 15 years of testing and baking, I’ve learned that these are two entirely different cookies with completely different textures, techniques, … Read more
Margaret Chen · June 28, 2026
The first time I made a proper Mexican polvorones recipe crumbly cookies version worthy of the name, I was standing in my kitchen at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday, covered in powdered sugar, laughing at myself. I had just attempted my 23rd batch in six weeks. Batches one through twenty-two had been either too dense, … Read more
Margaret Chen · June 27, 2026
I had been chasing the perfect authentic Italian biscotti recipe homemade for nearly a decade before my neighbor Rosa finally sat down at my kitchen table and handed me a handwritten card. No measurements in cups — just “quanto basta,” meaning “as much as needed.” It took me another six months of obsessive testing to … Read more
Margaret Chen · June 25, 2026
It was Christmas Eve 2021, and my cookie press chose the absolute worst moment to give up on me. The barrel cracked clean through on batch three of my spritz cookies — right in the middle of my annual holiday baking marathon. I had two pounds of butter already softened, enough dough for roughly eight … Read more
Margaret Chen · June 24, 2026
Millionaire shortbread is one of my favorite cookies to make, but I’ll be honest: that caramel layer is where most home bakers run into trouble. The chocolate is forgiving, the shortbread base is straightforward, but the caramel? That’s where crystallization happens, and suddenly you’ve got a grainy, separated mess instead of smooth, glossy perfection. After … Read more
Margaret Chen · June 22, 2026
Every December, my grandmother would set that iconic blue tin on the kitchen table, and we’d race to claim the pretzel-shaped ones before anyone else could. Years later, I realized the cookies inside that tin were never quite as magical as my memory made them. That’s when I became obsessed with cracking the real Danish … Read more
