Did you go to summer camp as a kid? I didn't, but just last week I learned that it's never too late when I boarded a bus full of strangers and embarked on an adventure complete with campfires, bunk beds, and hands-on workshops. It was a life-changing experience, accompanied by the taste of fragrant mountain conifers. 

The key to a successful bake sale? Stock your table with the most tempting and irresistible homemade cookies you can find. All the Good Cookies is just what you need for all your summer bake sales, and it comes with an extra bonus: every copy sold benefits Cookies for Kids' Cancer. This charity has raised thousands for pediatric cancer research through community bake sales — a testament to the power of a really good cookie when combined with a really good cause.

Q: I'm having issues with my icing colors for cookies and cakes. When using red gel coloring, my icing always turns out pink. How do I achieve richer colors?

Sent by April

Fun fact: I got married at a BJ's Restaurant. During a six-month period when I lived in a Southern California suburb surrounded by giant, generic chain restaurants like Applebee's and Outback Steakhouse, my future husband and I developed an unexpected affection for the doughy deep-dish pizzas and hot-pink strawberry lemonades at the local BJ's. Not to mention the Pizookie, a cookie baked in a small cake pan, served hot and gooey with ice cream scooped on top. The Pizookie had a lot to do with it, come to think of it.

If you've grown tired of run-of-the mill cookie cutter shapes — the star, the heart, the Christmas tree — then you're going to love Printmeneer. This small Dutch company makes the coolest cookie cutter shapes: diamonds, clouds, mountain range profiles, pig cuts, penguins, even a Herschel graph! And they're all made using a 3D printer.

Oh boy. If you often find yourself lost in the galleries of Tastespotting, you know that the deliciousness borders on overwhelming. With that in mind, you may be thrilled or dismayed when we tell you about the latest crowd-sourced recipe site. CookieHound is basically like Tastespotting, except it's only cookies. Repeat. Only cookies. Lots and lots of cookies. 

Do you crave cookies with perfectly crispy edges and soft, chewy middles, whether you're making oatmeal raisin or mega-dark chocolate chip? The chefs at America's Test Kitchen say that all we have to do is give our cookie dough a break — as in a 10-minute break. Could it be so easy?

KitchenAid stand mixers have a devoted following, and those who have one say it's totally worth the splurge. If you have a mixer, love your mixer, and find yourself squealing every year over the new 2013 KitchenAid mixer colors, then do we have a treat for you: fabulous, colorful, oh-so-cute gingerbread cookies in the shape of that beloved KitchenAid mixer!

Every now and again, I stumble across something online that makes me smile. Sometimes it's an incredibly well-written article; other times it's a preview of an album I've been wanting to hear. Then there are the times when all it takes to put me in a good mood is the thought of a single-serve soft chocolate chip cookie in a cup. 

Madeleines.  That little French butter cake that most (non-French) people think of more as a cookie.  They have a classy, literary reputation, having served as Proust's muse in his famous Remembrance of Things Past.  Like most muses, however, madeleines appear to be simple but actually require a fair amount of patience and careful following of instructions.  In the end, though,  you are rewarded with a truly unique little cake, browned and crispy on the outside and spongy and soft on the inside.  A perfect accompaniment to your afternoon cup of tea.