Delicious whale tail-shaped cookies from Honolulu Cookie Company.

Bypass all the craziness of crowds at the mall today — and still give a whale of gift to friends and family this holiday season.

Honolulu Cookie Company’s newest creation is exactly that — a shortbread cookie shaped like the tail of a Hawaiian Humpback whale.

The Hawaiian Islands boast one of the most important Humpback whale habitats on the planet. The whales migrate to Hawaii each year to reproduce.

The cookie company will be donating a bevy of its whale cookies to fund-raising and educational events hosted by Pacific Marine Life Foundation, a non-profit that supports marine research and conservation in the Pacific basin.

Besides drawing more attention to the whales, the cookies are just plain delicious, as evidenced by the sample I recently had a chance to try.

Twenty-four cookies are individually wrapped inside a deep sea-blue embossed Whale Collection Gift Box ($22.95). Inside there are eight flavors: Butter Macadamia, Pineapple Macadamia, Chocolate Dipped Macadamia, White Chocolate Coconut, White Chocolate Kona Coffee, Dark Chocolate Dipped Macadamia, Dark Chocolate Coconut, and Triple Chocolate Macadamia.

The cookies come individually wrapped inside the box for added freshness.

You’ll be hard pressed to pick a favorite. They’re all extremely buttery and crisp. The Dark Chocolate Macadamia is rich and nutty with the slightly bitter chocolate providing a nice contrast in flavor and looks. But I think it’s the Pineapple Macadamia with a tiny square of soft, dried tropical fruit decorating it that won me over the most. One taste really makes you feel like you’re back on those sandy beaches of Hawaii again.