Serving up a platter with an enticing array of holiday cookies is almost as appealing as receiving a box of them — it’s producing the goodies that can be a challenge, especially if you don’t have days to devote to baking projects.

The solution? “Make a party of it,” said pastry chef Krista Garcia, an instructor at the Napa Valley Cooking School.

This school, which offers an intensive professional training program for prospective chefs, also has a schedule of community classes, taught in evenings, on a dazzling array of subjects.

Last week Garcia presided over cookie-making class at the school, which had the air of a party. The class was maxed out at 20 people who, in partners, spent three hours creating 10 kinds of cookies. Many of the recipes, like Grandma Garcia’s Snowballs, were family ones, said Garcia, herself a graduate of the Napa Valley Cooking School.

Among the participants was JoAline Olson, president of St. Helena Hospital, who had purchased six spots and brought five of her colleagues as her holiday gift to them. (Actually one was the hospital CFO’s wife, Olson noted. “This is a girls’ night out.) “I’ve done this as a Christmas present before,” she said, as she and a partner followed the recipe for Chocolate Orange Pinwheels. “Last year we did the holiday hors d’oeuvres class.”

Mary Jo Gertner was making the very easy, no-cook Bourbon Balls, a recipe Garcia described as the one to make if, at any point in a baking session, you need a drink. “They help everyone get along,” Garcia said.

Jackie Sherman from St. Helena Hospital, and aspiring chef Amelia Hogan, 14, had signed up to make Sugar-Dusted Palmiers, a recipe they reported was also a winner in terms of easy. It uses store-bought puff pastry; the only tricky part they said was getting the folds right.

Michelle Hatfield and Dawn Morecci, from Napa, said they sign up for a holiday cooking class at the school as soon as the catalogue comes up in August. “It’s our once-a-year Christmas tradition,” Hatfield said. “It starts the season.” Their project was Hazelnut Brittle, which got an extra sparkle from luster dust, which they brushed over the candy. It’s available in all kinds of colors; you can find it at Shackfords in Napa.

Roberta Oswald of St. Helena, reported that her recipe, Cherry Walnut Bars, is “the one for people who say they don’t know how to bake.” Another extremely simple recipe, the Violet Stars, was a simple butter cookie recipe made special by a dusting of crushed candied violets.

Whereas Elaine John, a fundraiser for St. Helena Hospital, took on the more challenging Gingerbread People. “It’s my husband who cooks,” she said. “I thought we were going to watch a demonstration. I was horrified when I learned we had to cook.” One would not have known this, however, to look at the results, the rows of ginger ladies and gents. The rest of the class helped out with the imaginative decorating with royal icing.

During the class, Garcia sprinted from station to station, helping out with demonstrations for trickier projects like the Chocolate Macaroons — these were some of the most admired cookies when they were finished.

“One of the scariest things about baking is not knowing where you’re going,” Garcia said. “Some times it’s smart to make a trial batch.”

Among the tips she offered:

• For butter-rich doughs (like Gingerbread People or Chocolate Orange Pinwheels) it’s important to chill the dough, and put it in the oven cold. Dough that warms up will spread out as it cooks and “you get gingerbread blobs.” Garcia said this applies to cookies like oatmeal and chocolate chip. “My mother asked me why sometimes her oatmeal cookies hold their shape and sometimes they don’t. I told her to chill the dough. She said it’s the best cookie tip she’s ever got.”

• To make chilled dough malleable, use a rolling pin. “Don’t do it in anger,” Garcia quipped as she demonstrated how to whack the dough with a rolling pin. “And apologize to the dough.” (“This is my favorite part of the evening,” Olson said, when it was her turn to whack dough for her pinwheels. “I’ve been looking forward to it all night.”)

• Spectrum Shortening is a good, trans-fat free substitute for Crisco. It’s available at Vallerga’s, Sunshine Market and Safeway.

• Don’t rely entirely on the times quoted on recipes. “All ovens are different. They’re done when they’re done.”

• Plan on doing things in stages. “If you’re going to do several kinds of cookies, make the dough one day, bake them another.”

• Don’t do it all yourself. “Get six friends and make it into a party.”