Halloween sweets

For some people, the Halloween spirit is easily conjured. A look in the back of the closet, a trip to the joke shop, and poof! Instant alien, or nun, or cowboy. For others, coming up with a clever costume provokes anxiety, not gaiety. Luckily, Arlington's Lakota Bakery has a seasonal remedy. Their Halloween cookies ($1 each), simple shortbread cut into ghosts, pumpkins, cats, and bats, and decorated with orange-tinted white chocolate (and dark chocolate) are rich and buttery and will quell any costume-related angst. They might even inspire your get-up. Lakota Bakery, 1375 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, 781-646-0121. -- LEIGH BELANGER