For centuries the comforting ritual of cookie baking and exchanging has been one of the sweetest ties that bind neighbors, friends, and community members together during the holiday season. It’s­ the one time of the year when dozens of billowy sugar cookies laden with thick swoops of icing, gingerbread dusted with powdery sugar, and crispy biscotti for coffee-dipping are baked simply with a desire to share and to send a bit of our family roots into the home of another to let them know that they are loved.