Cake is a birthday must-have, right?  It has been at our house, but several family members have chosen other desserts, too, like chocolate-pineapple pie or a huge chocolate chip cookie. So although cake may not be the only dessert we have for birthdays, it is still one of the most popular.

Summer means time at the beach...playing in the ocean, combing the shore for sea shells, burying your feet in the warm sand...ah-h-h. For me, baking and decorating “beach cookies” brings all that to mind. I wish you all a wonderful summer...even if it’s still December and there’s snow on the ground! A plate of beach cookies always brings summer into someone’s day.

These Brown Butter Cookies are a gourmet twist on sugar cookies. They have a deep, rich, caramelized taste, and are decorated with white and dark modeling chocolate. The embossing gives them an added elegance, sort of like a cookie in a tuxedo.