Aunt Chris has a long-standing holiday tradition of whipping up cookies for us all to enjoy during the festive season. Beginning with just a few recipes to nibble on ahead of Christmas Eve mass, she gradually elevated her baking to an annual pre-Christmas event. In certain years, she has rallied everyone to bake as many as 14 cookie types in a day with a single oven, handling a crowd of up to 60 attendees at once. Despite the large number and diverse variety of cookies, there was never a shortfall.

The remarkable aspect of this Christmas cookie extravaganza is not just the delectable collection of sweet treats, but also the masterful logistics of the entire baking day. Managing people, mixing bowls, spatulas, oven temperatures, ingredients, and cooling racks to meet the deadline for our traditional dinner of Peruvian chicken takeout, is nothing short of a culinary miracle.

The success behind Aunt Chris's efficient, one-day cookie factory lies in her trove of swift and straightforward cookie recipes. For instance, their collection comprises no-fuss recipes like the peanut butter cookie alongside the more complex pâte à choux. The peanut butter cookies come with their own magic; mix a cup of peanut butter, sugar, an egg, and a teaspoon of baking soda. Adding fine cuts of peanuts or mini chocolate chips gives a more textured bite.

Then there are the chewy sugar cookies, not the ones meant for fancy icing but a quicker version that boasts a crunchy exterior lightly seasoned with warm nutmeg. An exciting fusion of oats and chocolate chip, these cookies combine rolled oats and dried cranberries into the classic chocolate chip cookie dough.

Other quick-to-prepare cookies include a whole-wheat ginger cookie sweetened with sugar and treacle, a vegan snickerdoodle variant using spelt and flax, a recipe for memorable butter cookies, a gluten-free chocolate alternative, subtly flavored gluten-free cookies sweetened with honey, and vegan blueberry cookies.

In the spirit of the holiday season, why not treat yourself to a quick, easy, single-portion chocolate chip cookie? After all, you might need a quick pick-me-up after this cookie baking marathon. Aunt Chris's annual holiday cookie extravaganza is a testament to the fact that with the right recipes, you don't have to compromise on variety or taste, regardless of the number of guests or baking tools available.