My grandma had no shortage of recipes she'd use for birthdays, Christmas Eve dinners, and hot, summer days at her pool.

State of play: My favorite family recipe is for my Aunt Fran's drömmar — Swedish Dream Cookies. I've never seen ... out on the lightest sugar-and-vanilla bombs ever to trigger an addiction.

One notable ingredient left out of her recipe is vanilla extract. If vanilla in cookies is a necessary ingredient for you, add in about 1/2 teaspoon when you toss in your egg yolk and flour.