Holiday baking wouldn't be complete without a batch of gingerbread men. Unadorned or intricately decorated, they just shout Christmas.

Shrimp, edamame, avocado, mango—plus the goodness of brown rice.

This recipe, developed by food scientist Jennifer Pallian, has a pared-back ratio of fat and sugar to flour and a higher proportion of liquid ingredients, which takes them into the muffin zone. The addition of oil makes for a pillowy, tender crumb. 

This recipe from food scientist Jennifer Pallian uses extra brown sugar and has a higher sugar-to-butter ratio. There's also no need to chill the dough before you bake, which—yay!—means faster cookies.