Tricia Hall, a busy family physician, self-medicates with baking. "It's sort of my therapy after a long day at work," she said. "I get home and I like to do something with my hands instead of my head. I'll often bake late at night and decompress that way."

Hall got her adventurous baking sense from her grandfather, a professional baker. "I'm always changing recipes," she said. "I always like more vanilla, and more brown sugar vs. white. But this is the first time that I've tried to create my own new recipe."

Raspberry Truffle Tartlets began to germinate in her mind last year, when Hall realized that many of her Christmas cookies were white. Chocolate and raspberry are two favorite tastes, so Hall used them as a starting point; the mini-muffin shape was borrowed from another oft-baked recipe.

A real "a-ha" moment came when she added raspberry liqueur, improving both texture and flavor. She settled on seeded preserves to give the finished product a bit more texture and visual panache, and baking times were varied until just the right fudgy density came out of the oven. Her nursing staff proved to be valuable taste-testers, and her mother-in-law added the final touch, a festive white-chocolate drizzle.

Her advice: Savor them slowly. "They're not like a chocolate-chip cookie, they're more like a truffle," Hall said. "You can get overloaded on the sugar high. My dad came over, popped one in his mouth and said, 'Eh, I don't like them so much.' Then he ate another one -- slowly -- and he said, 'Oh, it's really good.'"

Raspberry truffle tartlets

Note: "When I pondered ideas for a unique holiday cookie, I thought about chocolate and raspberry," wrote Tricia Hall of Minneapolis. "It seems to be a missing combination from the traditional holiday cookie platter."

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 2 1/2 c. flour

• 2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1 c. (2 sticks) plus 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

• 2/3 c. granulated sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 tbsp. raspberry liqueur

• 1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

• 8 oz. raspberry preserves

• 2/3 c. white chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat mini-muffin tins with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, and reserve.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until well-blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and raspberry liqueur and beat until well-blended. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, until just blended. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Spoon dough by heaping tablespoonsful and roll into balls. Place balls into prepared mini-muffin tins and bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven and, using back of a spoon, immediately (and gently) flatten tops of tartlets. Transfer mini-muffin tins on a wire rack and cool for about 10 minutes.

Using a thinly bladed knife, carefully separate tartlets from tin and remove. Transfer tartlets to a wire rack to cool completely. In a small bowl, stir preserves. Place 1/2 teaspoon dollop of preserves on top of each tartlet and carefully spread.

In a double boiler over simmering heat, melt white chocolate chips, whisking occasionally. Using a spoon, drizzle white chocolate over tartlets.