I have a MacBook Pro 13" and am using Airport Time Capsule and iCloud. I delete my cookies all the time, but every so often the cookies reappear after rebooting. It is the exact same amount of cookies each time, so I wonder why they're being reloaded?

You can block cookies "always" but some websites use them for site navigation. Some websites install a plethora of them. Some, mostly lowbrow entertainment sites, use cookies to flood you with advertisements for garbage products.

Stored cookies in Safari are a function of the websites you visit, but their absolute number isn't that relevant. Time Capsule doesn't require cookies but iCloud will use cookies to store your Apple ID login information, for example:

Blocking all cookies in Safari does not work. Deleted cookies will not stay deleted. There are numerous threads on this going back years, both in these forums and elsewhere. Many claim to have submitted the issue to Apple, but I have never seen anyone post a reply.

I have seen many suggested fixes that involve finding the cookies file, some including Terminal manipulations, and none seems to work universally. I can find noplace where Apple addresses this officially with an actual Apple-approved explanation or how-to.

Bottom line, your browser's security features should do what they claim: delete cookies. When they come back without ever even visiting another page, this is clearly not working in the way a reasonable user would expect.

Bottom line, Safari does not protect users' privacy in the way it pretends to and, after so many years of this issue, it appears that Apple wants it this way.

Having spent way too much time on this, I realize the choice is between Safari which is pretty well optimized; Firefox which is a lot pokier, at least for me; and Chrome, which I assume funnels personal information directly to Google.