Limit access using custom cookies

I am trying to develop a simple site that is open for public viewing, but has areas of the site that are limited to certain people I specify. I do not want to have have all of these people register on the website, but merely be able to view those pages and areas if they have a customized cookie on their site.

My thought was to label all of the restricted pages with one particular category, and if they do not have the cookie, to re-direct them to the home page, otherwise, display the content.

I have played around with a simply plugin, queries, category limits, and other things, and I can’t seem to find a solution. I am fairly new at developing in WordPress and could use any suggestions and help. Thanks!