Don't place cookie dough on a hot or greased sheet (unless called for in the recipe), because cookies will spread too thin. Empty sheets as soon as they come out of the oven, unless otherwise directed. Cool cookies completely on racks before decorating (unless otherwise directed) or storing.

A salvaged mayonnaise or peanut butter jar makes a showy container for gift cookies. Carefully pack the cookies in the jar, cushioning them with crumpled colored cellophane. Screw the lid on tight and decorate the jar.

For Teatime Tassies, put a half dozen on a porcelain plate for a personal gift to a live-aloner. For a couple or small family, buy a miniature muffin pan that holds a dozen cakes. Place a tassie in each cup. Wrap with see-through paper and tie on the recipe with a festive bow.

Decorated Printed Spice Cookies are ornaments in themselves. To dramatize their good looks, cut cardboard (discarded skirt cardboard or other stiff cardboard) in a strip that will hold 3 to 5 cookies. Cover the cardboard neatly with colored holiday wrap, then place cookies in a row on it. Wrap tightly in colored plastic wrap to give as a gift or show as a table decoration. For a springy centerpiece, place a small crock of blooming narcissus bulbs in the center of a pretty dish and surround with printed cookies.

Place cookie dough in straight lines on cookie sheet. When baked just run a spatula under one line of cookies, then slide the whole line onto the cooling rack. If the recipe calls for a lot of sugar, grease even a Teflon-coated cookie sheet so the cookies will slip off. It's faster than removing them one cookie at a time.

If you don't have time to bake all the varieties you want, why not organize a cookie swap? Each person bakes 2 or 3 recipes, then swaps a dozen or so of the best with the other barter-bakers.

Different type of cookies should be stored in different, tightly sealed containers. Those you want to keep moist should be packed with a slice or two of apple, replaced often. Crisp cookies should be put in a container with a loose-fitting cover, later re-crisped in a slow oven for about 3 minutes. Bar cookies should be stored in the baking pan, tightly covered, in a cool place.