2008 Cookie Exchange Finalists

Brown Sugar Butter Cookies
Coconut Ginger Rolls
Cafe Brulot Cookies
Truffle Cookies
Frosty Bonbons
Holiday Cider Shortbread Cookies
Berlin Wreaths
Allehände (Norwegian Allspice Cookies)
Vin Santo Glazed Pumpkin Pecan Cookie
Cherry's Nutty Chews
White Russian Cookie Cups
Laurel's Bisco Gebäcks
Florentine Lace Cookies
Pecan Caramel Smoothies
Post-holiday Chocolate Chip Cookies
Swedish Pepparkakor (Ginger Cookies)
Belgardin Brod
Cornflake Cookies
Cabernet Cherry Chocolate Drop Cookies
Spiced Smacks
(Moroccan) Honey Orange Crescents
Snow Pies
Green Tea Honey Cookies
Italian Cassata Cookies
Armenian Lemon Walnut Cookies
Kringle's Krunchables

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Brown Butter Sugar Cookies
By Barbara Garlick

• Ingredients
• 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup dairy sour cream
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts ** browned butter icing

Cookies : In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl combine brown sugar and butter; beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture is fluffy. Add dry ingredients and dairy sour cream. Mix well. By hand, stir in chopped nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies are set. Transfer cookies onto a wire rack; cool completely.

Frost with Browned Butter Icing.

** Browned Butter Icing: In small saucepan heat 1/4 cup butter over medium heat, just until butter turns the color of light brown sugar. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 cups of powdered sugar and enough boiling water (1-2 teaspoons) to make icing of spreading consistency. Frost cookies immediately. If frosting becomes grainy, soften with a few more drops of hot water.

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Coconut Ginger Rolls
By Cooky Longo

• Ingredients for the rolls (glaze list below)
• 2/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup light molasses (you can use dark brown)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3-1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger (powder)
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 cups grated coconut
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped crystallized ginger

Cookies: Cream butter and sugar well. Blend molasses, beaten eggs, milk and vanilla; set aside. In a separate bowl sift the flour, soda, baking powder and spices together. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar. Add the grated coconut and blend well, then add the crystallized ginger.

Chill mixture until firm in the refrigerator, about 30 min. Make into short finger-length rolls and place about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet; then bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes, until firm and brown but not dry.

Glaze: 2 tablespoons butter, 2 ounces softened cream cheese. 1 teaspoons grated orange peel, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar. Mix in a bowl with an electric beater until smooth. While the cookies are still warm, spread glaze on the cookies with a pastry brush.

** even better the second day!!

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Café Brulot Cookies (New Orleans)
By Andrea Sandoval

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces, very finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee crystals
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup butter, cut up
• 1 tablespoon finely shredded lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon shredded orange peel
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1-3/4 cups flour
• ** Icing separate

In a food processor, or by strong hands, combine brown sugar, pecans, coffee crystals, cinnamon and cloves; cover and process until finely mixed and chopped together. Add butter, lemon peel and orange peel; cover and mix until the butter is evenly mixed. Add egg yolk and milk and combine.

Shape dough into two-inch long rolls, wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap, and chill at least two hours, until dough is firm. Cut rolls into 1/4 inch slices, place slices about 1-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool. Pipe or drizzle the café icing over cookies.

Icing: in a small bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon strong coffee and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make the icing easy to pipe or drizzle.

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Truffle Cookies
(Second Prize Winner)
By Elizabeth Ivanovich

• 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped coarsely
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (try Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Place unsweetened chocolate, butter and 1 cup of the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl, or on the top of a double boiler. Set in a water-filled double boiler or a pan of barely simmering water. Melt over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cool.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat together sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer until pale and frothy, about 2 minutes. Fold in melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour, add the remaining chocolate chips. Chill, tightly covered, until firm. This will take at least two hours. Dough will keep in a refrigerator for two days or more, though dough will be easier to work with on the day it is made.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into 1-inch balls with dampened hands. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake in batches in middle of the oven until cookies are puffed and "set" on top, about 9 minutes. Cookies will be soft in the center; if in doubt, it is better to under-bake than over-bake. Transfer to racks to cool; makes about 6 dozen.

Note: Dough balls can be frozen in an airtight, heavy-duty zip lock bag for two months or more! Bake directly from the freezer. I actually prefer to do this, as it is more convenient and the dough balls are less likely to over-bake this way. (Still, bake no more than 10 minutes.)

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Frosty Bonbons!
By Christine Zon

Ingredients

• 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 8 oz. pitted dates, coarsely chopped
• 8 oz. dried fruit (apricots, raisins, figs) coarsely chopped
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 4 tablespoons brandy
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Melt chocolate in a bowl, set over hot but not boiling water; let cool. Sift flour with almond meal, salt and baking soda.

Lightly toss dates with fruit, walnuts and brandy. Beat butter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Add chocolate, beating until combined.

With wooden spoon, stir in buttermilk, cinnamon and allspice, and then flour mixture, blending well. Stir in fruit/nut mixture.

Refrigerate dough, covered, for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and lightly grease cookie sheets. With lightly buttered fingers, shape dough into balls, using about 1/2 teaspoon to 1 full teaspoon each. Place one inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake for 6-8 minutes. Remove to wire rack and let cool.

To make the frosting, Combine 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar with 3 tablespoons light cream and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Mix well until smooth. Frost tops of the cookies while still warm. Makes 12 dozen.

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Holiday Cider Shortbread Cookies
By Veronica Bercaives

• 3-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons mulling spice
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt; set aside.

2. In a spice or coffee grinder, grind together the mulling spices to a coarse powder and sift out any large pieces; set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Ad the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and mulling spices and mix until well blended. Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture one-third at a time, mixing just until combined. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it into 4 pieces. Shape each piece into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until firm (up to two days).

4. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. On a lightly floured work surface, roll one of the dough disks out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Icing cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes (save the scrapes for re-rolling). (You can also distribute dough into tart pans, instead of rolling out, and once baked, dip edges in the melted white chocolate if desired.) Icing a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time, for 10-15 minutes, until pale golden brown. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack, and cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Makes about 3 dozen.

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Berlin Wreaths
By Tali Sundberg

• 4 eggs (two hard-boiled)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups sifted flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mixture One: Take the yolks of the hard-boiled eggs and work in 1/2 cup sugar. Add the yolks from the uncooked eggs.

Mixture Two: mix the flour and the butter.

Add mixture one to mixture two. Roll in small logs and form into wreaths. Dip in beaten egg whites and then in sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees until light brown -- about 10 minutes.

Way back when (I'm 76), Home Ec was a class. Miss Parsons taught my 8th grade class at Ashland High School in Ashland, Wisconsin. This was her prized recipe, which she shared with us and had us make during class. We all thought it was crazy to begin making cookies by hard boiling eggs. But we "ate our words" when we tasted the cookies and discovered that they were DELICIOUS!

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Allehände (Norwegian Allspice Cookies)
By Gunvor Ross

• 3-1/4 cups flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1-3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon mace (or nutmeg)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon allspice
• 2 teaspoon baking powder

Beat eggs and sugar. Add sour cream. Add dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Drop by walnut-sized pieces onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until light brown.

I was born and raised in Sweden by Norwegian parents. Our family Christmas traditions were generally Swedish and Norwegian, but the cookie recipes were almost all Norwegian. As young children this was a favorite recipe, and even today this remains a "must bake cookie"! You can't go wrong. The simple cookie is moist inside with a smooth crust. "Allehände" means "a little of various things."

With a glass of milk, or better yet, dipped into hot chocolate or coffee -- yumm!!

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Vin Santo Glazed Pumpkin Pecan Cookie
By Robert Johnson

Ingredients

Cookie:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cup pumpkin pulp
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:

• 2 cups Vin Santo
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cookies:

1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.

2. In a second mixing bowl mix butter and sugars until well mixed. To this second bowl add eggs, pumpkin and vanilla and while mixing until smooth.

3. With electric mixer on low, slowly add ingredients of first bowl with flour dry mixture to the second bowl mixture to form a batter.

4. Fold in pecans.

5. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the lightly oiled cookie sheets.

6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until edges are crisp. Cool on the sheet for 2 minutes before moving cookies to wire racks.

7. Coat cookies while warm with 1/2 tsp. glaze per cookie.

Glaze Preparation:

1. After mixing dry ingredients in step 1 above, prepare glaze.

2. Using double boiler reduce 2 cups Vin Santo down to roughly 1 cup. Take off of burner. Add to the warm Vin Santo the sugar. Once sugar is dissolved added butter. Lastly, add orange rind and orange juice.

Yields about 9 dozen cookies.

For years I've planned on entering your contest but have invariably been diverted. I decided this would be the year to enter.

I am a big fan of dessert wines and became intrigued with the idea of integrating one into an epicurean delight. In developing this cookie the idea was to combine the idea of a warm fire on a cold fall night with a late night treat. Originally, I thought I would incorporate the Vin Santo into the cookie dough. I decided the Vin Santo would be lost in the cookie spices, so chose the glaze approach.

I have been collecting Vin Santos from the early 1980s. They are so unique, I buy only one bottle each. For wines of some distinction, I buy a minimum of three bottles. It's usually a moving event to savor a Vin Santo, knowing the unique experience will never be repeated.

Regards, Robert Johnson

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Cherry's Nutty Chews
By David Thompson

• 1-1/4 cups unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
• 7 egg yolks
• zest from 1 lemon and 1/2 orange

Filling:

• 14 oz. sugar
• 7 oz. butter
• 7 oz. honey
• 2 cups cream
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 container candied maraschino cherries, chopped
• 12 oz. chopped unsalted nuts (I use pecans, almonds and cashews)

Topping:

• 8 oz. melted chocolate (milk, dark or semi-sweet)
• 1 oz. grey sea salt (you may not use it all)

For Dough:

Cream the egg yolks and the butter until light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients, and with a dough hook, combine to form a dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill till firm or overnight.

In a large sheet pan roll out dough -- or I find it easier to press out the dough to cover the pan about 1/4 inch thick, pushing the dough up the sides to prevent the filling from seeping under. Prick the dough with a fork to prevent bubbling and bake at 375 degrees till light brown (about 15 minutes), then remove and let cool completely.

For Filling: Place the sugar, butter, honey and cream in a heavy sauce pot and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to thicken and caramelize; a light to medium brown color is desired.

Add the almond extract, the nuts and the cherries and mix well. Pour the hot mixture over the cooled dough and spread evenly. Bake at 375 degrees until brown and bubbly (about 30-40 minutes). Remove and let cool.

Topping: After the cookie sheet is cool, with a fork drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookie, then sprinkle with the sea salt. Let the chocolate set, then cut the cookie into squares or barswith a sharp pizza cutter, or use sharp edged cookie cutters to make shapes.

These cookies were inspired by my mother-in-law, Cherry Parr, who used to make the best pecan pie I ever tasted. Her secret was to add orange blossom water to her pie dough and almond extract to her filling. I took her ideas and started adapting them into a short dough cookie. I started with just using pecans but over the years have added other nuts (almost all work, even pine nuts) and then candied cherries, then topping the cookies with chocolate. The latest addition is the sea salt, which came from the Food Network, where I saw a candy company topping their chocolate caramels with sea salt to bring out the flavors and sweetness of their candies.

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White Russian Cookie Cups
(Special Mention Prize)
By Marjorie Ayodele

Filling

• 16 oz. white chocolate, plus 2 oz. for shavings
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup Kahlua
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 oz. sugar

Crust

• 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
• 4-5 tablespoons butter

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. It's a good idea to stand over the chocolate while it is melting and stir it until it's completely melted, then take it off the heat immediately.

Whip the cream and set aside. Pour the Kahlua and hot water slowly into a bowl with the egg yolks, whisking briskly as you go until completely mixed.

Whisk in the melted chocolate. Keep whisking even after the mixture is completely combined; this will help to cool the chocolate. Whip the egg whites and the sugar until peaking but not dry; add the vanilla to the egg whites and sugar as you beat them.

Fold the egg-white meringue into the chocolate mixture carefully with a wooden spoon.

Fold in the whipped cream. THIS IS THE MOST CRUCIAL PART OF THE RECIPE. The key to a great chocolate mousse is that you can't incorporate hot melted chocolate into whipped cream. The chocolate mixture must be cool to the touch or the cream will break. Lightly blend the two mixtures until uniform. Pour the final mousse into individual crusts and garnish with white chocolate shavings. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Crust

Mix the cookie crumbs with butter and press into small mini muffin tins with a pestle to make even crust for mousse. Cool for 30 minutes before filling.

We love White Russians and we LOVE cookies, so I just thought up a yummy way to enjoy both together. This cookie is by far my personal best creation. I have not seen anyone making anything like this one.

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Laurel's Bisco Gebäcks
By Laurel "Cooky" Hilton

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1-3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons anise (soak in water and squeeze out water before use)
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Combine 1//4 cup sugar with 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Set aside to shake on cookies before baking.

2. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by orange zest and anise (be sure to squeeze out water).

4. Add flour alternately with orange juice.

5. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour. Dough may be rolled into 1-1/4 inch logs, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and placed in freezer for later baking. Or dough may be rolled and cut with cookie cutters. Before baking be sure to dust with cinnamon sugar.

Bake on parchmented cookie sheets for 8 minutes. Makes 60 plus cookies.

I entered these last year and I must try again. I'm very proud of them. Several years ago, I entered Umah's Butter Gebäcks. They are a traditional German anise cut cookie. Every year they were made by the hundreds and guaranteed to last till Easter. They didn't win.

Time has passed -- on a trip to New Mexico, I discovered the traditional biscochitos. They brought the very familiar anise with a new twist, cinnamon. Then I worked on a citrus cookbook with my Master Gardener friends. This native Californian found that so much of life can be enriched by a bit of orange zest, and a rasp is fun, too. With no further ado, I give you Laurel's Bisco Gebäcks.

Note: for traditional biscochitos, lard is supposed to be a must. My grandmother would never approve.

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Florentine Lace Cookies
By Bill and Patti Taylor

• 3/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup extra fine sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups slivered almonds
• 1-1/2 cup dried cranberries chopped (soaked in 1/2 cup Amaretto, drained dry)
• 1 cup candied orange peel, shopped
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 lb. dark chocolate chips
• Oil
• Silicone cookie pad or parchment paper

Combine the honey, sugar, and butter in small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to boil. Cook until honey and sugar reach 238 degrees (use candy thermometer).

While honey sugar mixture is cooking, combine the almonds, cranberries, orange peel flour, cloves and nutmeg in large bowl.

Pour honey sugar mixture over the nuts and cranberries, stirring to mix thoroughly and cool mixture.

Coat hands with oil before handling cookie batter (prevents sticking). When cool enough to handle; form the cookie mixture into one-inch balls.

Lace cookies on the baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone pad. Flatten cookies with palm of your and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until they bubble on top. Transfer to cool on cooling rack.

Melt dark chocolate in top of double boiler. Stir until melted and smooth. Dip half the cookies into the chocolate and place on parchment paper.

Cookies may be stored between layers of parchment paper in airtight container.

I was having my teeth cleaned, and while speaking to my hygienist we began talking about holiday baking. We both love nuts and anything homemade, so she suggested Florentines. This seemed odd to me because I was sitting at my dentist's office, where we don't usually discuss baking and sweets! I went home (cavity free) and looked up these cookies, thought of how I could put my own holiday twist on them and ... there you go!

REALLY CHOICE is the expression used in my 1962 "Joy of Cooking" book. It brought me back years. Love the expression, and the cookies are REALLY CHOICE!

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Pecan Caramel Smoothies By Rosemary Keith

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg, separated
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup. cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Filling:

• 12- 14 caramels
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon shortening

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Roll into 1-inch balls. Slightly beat egg white in small bowl. Dip balls into egg white and coat with nuts. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet. Using the end of a wooden spoon or your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each ball. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Meanwhile, in a small heavy saucepan, melt caramels with cream over low heat; stir until smooth. Fill each cookie with 1/2 tsp. caramel mixture.

In microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening in a small bowl until melted and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over cookies.

Yield 2 1/2 dozen.

This rich and simple cookie was first given to me by a friend on a plate of Christmas cookies. After begging, I obtained the recipe from her.

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Post-holiday Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Mark Hager

• 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups chopped mixed leftover or spare specialty chocolate candy -- See's or Joseph Schmidt truffles are my favorites. Be sure to use some with caramel fillings or caramel crisps because they melt into crunchy sweet spots in the cookies. See's Nuts and chews are a great mix, too.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

2. Chop chocolates in small batches on a cutting board with a sharp knife. Chop to consistency and size of regular size chocolate chips. Mix together in a bowl to get 2 1/2 cups.

3. Stir or sift flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl.

4. In a large mixing bowl on medium speed cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add vanilla and mix thoroughly.

5. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly on low speed after each.

6. Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture and combine well.

7. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 9-11 minutes until golden brown.

9. Cool 2-3 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

I come from a family of bakers. Mom has baked all my life, and Dad is a prizewinner at county fairs. My brother and sister both bake. I came to baking late as a graduate student in Ann Arbor, MI. It was very cold and snowy there, and I discovered I could bake cookies during the long winters. One day after Christmas I didn't have chocolate chips, but I did have a large box of truffles my parents had sent from my favorite SF chocolatier, Joseph Schmidt. I chopped up an assortment of them for the cookies, and my new Post-holiday chocolate chip cookies were born. They brought a bit of San Francisco to Ann Arbor and many smiles to my friends' faces as we enjoyed them watching the snow pile up outside.

I have since expanded them to the whole holiday season -- a great way to use up leftover Halloween candies (but reduce the amount to 1-1/2 cups, because those mini chocolate bars are a lot sweeter than the truffles or other specialty chocolates).

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Swedish Pepparkakor (Ginger Cookies)
(First Prize Winner)
By Leta Leggitt

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup light molasses
• 2 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Sift together flour, spices, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then molasses and orange zest. Stir in dry ingredients. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill well, several hours or overnight.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board an even 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a cookie cutter and place the cookies on a greased baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven about 7 -9 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Watch carefully as they burn easily. Cookies must be of even thickness in order to brown evenly.

My husband's petite and elegant grandmother immigrated to America from Sweden 1939. She was the most wonderful home baker I ever knew. Every week she baked cookies, cardamom breakfast rolls, cakes and other treats for her neighbors, family and friends who dropped in to visit her. My father-in-law took her grocery shopping every week (she didn't drive) and she usually purchased between six and eight pounds of butter for her weekly baking. My children adored all of her baked goods, but the Pepparkakor that she baked at Christmas time was prized above all else. She never used a recipe and when Grandy Ruthie was in her mid 80s my father-in-law watched her make the cookies and wrote down the recipe, as best he could. She's gone now, but I still take out the handwritten recipe and bake the cookies for my children that are now grown.

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Belgardin Brod
By MaryEllen Lamother

• 1-1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• Grated rinds of 1 lemon, 1 orange
• 2 cup ground or finely chopped almonds
• 7-9 cup all purpose flour (depends on quality of flour)
• 2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon each of ground cloves, cinnamon, salt
• 2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 teaspoon baking powder

Glaze: 1/2 box powdered sugar and 3-4 tablespoons water

1. Melt honey and butter together

2. Stir in OJ, grated rinds and almonds.

3. In separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients using about 7 cups flour.

4. Add half of dry ingredients to honey mixture, stir well.

5. Continue adding dry ingredients until the dough is stiff. Dough should be firm but not dry or sticky. If not stiff enough, add a bit more flour. If too stiff, add a bit more OJ.

6. Shape into balls about the size of a grapefruit. Let dough stand to mellow, at least 2-3 hours or overnight.

7. Roll out thin on floured board. Cut into narrow strips (1-1/2" x 3") using a fluted wheel cutter.

8. Bake 10-12 minutes at 325 until lightly browned at edges.

9. Glaze: Mix powdered sugar and water over medium heat until dissolved, no lumps. Consistency of thin syrup.

10. Brush cookies with glaze while warm.

11. Cool until glaze is hard. Store in airtight container or freeze.

Yield: about 100+ cookies.

These are a flat hard rectangular cookie made with ground almonds and some spice, finished with a light glaze. I believe my mom found this recipe in Sunset Magazine in the '50s and it became a favorite of our family and of everyone who ever had one. They are addictive and very Christmasy because they smell so good. They make an excellent dessert with port and fruit, with wine, coffee, tea. The recipe makes a lot of dough and though they are not hard to make, it takes hours to bake them -- because it makes so many! I have never known anyone else to make them.

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Cornflake Cookies
By Andra Lekich

• 6 egg whites
• 3 cups coconut
• 6 cups cornflakes (crushed)
• 2-1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 3 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups nuts chopped (walnuts, pecans)

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Then add sugar -- beat a little more until blended. Mix all the rest of the ingredients.

Drop by teaspoonful onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Grandma and Grandpa Duzevich came to this country from Croatia -- former Yugoslavia. With little to no money Grandma managed to create wonderful Christmases for my mother and my aunt. One of the treats for the holiday was her special cornflake cookies. Not your traditional sugar cookie snowman but a tasty, chewy treat just the same. In honor of my grandparents and in keeping the tradition, I bake my grandmother's cornflake cookies each holiday and pass around to all the sisters and cousins, nieces and nephews and yes, still to my mom and my aunt. It brings a smile to their face each and every year remembering back when their mother, my grandmother, served them the very same cornflake cookies.

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Cabernet Cherry Chocolate Drop Cookies
By Jean Price

• 2 cups dried cherries
• 2 cups cabernet sauvignon wine
• 4 squares dark chocolate baking bar, broken into little pieces
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl place the cherries and wine. Microwave 45 seconds and then let sit and marinate about 30 minutes. Drain cherries (and drink the wine...).

In another bowl melt the baking bar in a small bowl by microwaving it about 45 seconds and stirring. If chocolate is still lumpy, then microwave again for about 10-15 seconds, then stir. If still lumpy, repeat until smooth. Let chocolate sit to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl cream together the chocolate, oil and sugar. One at a time, beat in the eggs and then add in the vanilla extract.

In another bowl mix together the baking powder, flour and the salt. Add the creamed chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients and mix all together. Fold in the drained "cabernet cherries," the chocolate chips and the pecan pieces. Roll the dough into 1" balls and then roll these lightly into powdered sugar to coat all sides. (If dough is too sticky to roll easily, refrigerate it about 30 minutes to an hour.) Place on cookie sheet, spacing cookies 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

These cookies evolved when a couple girlfriends and I went to Petaluma and the North Coast. We stayed all weekend out at the beach in Bodega Bay. Late one night we decided we really needed to make cookies! Using the ingredients we had on hand, we made up these truly decadent cookies. We ate nearly all of them in one sitting, accompanied by ... another bottle of cabernet!! It was a great way to end a fun day.

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Spiced Smacks
Rose Ann Muscat

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoons Saigon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
• dash salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup raisins

Egg glaze: 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium size mixing bowl put in flour, all of the spices, baking powder, baking soda, set aside. In a second bowl put in butter and use an electric mixer a few seconds to soften. Add the brown sugar to the butter a little at a time to incorporate, beating 1 minute after each addition. Add the egg and yolk and beat for 1 more minute. Add the molasses, and vanilla and beat for 1 minute.

Using a wooden spoon stir 1 cup of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add the walnuts and raisins. Add the remaining flour a cup at a time and stir after each addition. The dough should be stiff.

Turn dough out on a lightly floured board and divide in fourths. Roll each piece into a log 12 inches long. Roll the log onto a piece of parchment paper, then lift the parchment paper with log on it to a cool cookie sheet. Put two logs on one cookie sheet. Follow the same directions for the other 2 pieces of dough.

Using a pastry brush, paint the logs with the egg glaze. Place in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

While still warm, with a sharp serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal. Makes approximately 40 cookies. Enjoy!

I have been making this cookie for many years. Our children and now grandchildren enjoy this delicious cookie and it is a favorite among the many cookies I make during the holidays. They store well and are just as fresh a week after you bake them.

Each year during Gene Burns Cookie Contest, I think, "I should submit this recipe." I know Gene would like them.

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(Moroccan) Honey Orange Crescents
By Rita Zanzinger

Combine

• 1-1/2 cup oil (good vegetable oil or grape oil is a nice addition)
• 6 tablespoons frozen concentrated orange juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Sift together and then add to first mixture

• 3-1/2 cups sifted flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Stir in nuts

• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Chill dough. Shape into crescents and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 18 minutes.

Remove from oven and place on cookie racks.

Drizzle while still warm with 3/4 cup honey and 3 tablespoons orange juice.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts.

My mother was and excellent cook AND cookie maker. During the holiday season she could and would turn out 3-4 different cookies in a day's time. (Her children and nieces/nephews would receive cookie care packages before Christmas. Her greatest resource for recipes was from the cooking section of newspapers or friends. If she liked the ingredients she would try the recipe out. Sometimes she would change or add ingredients. This was one of her favorites. I think it goes back to the 1960s. Enjoy.

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Snow Pies
(Third Place Winner)
By Audry Fitzgerald

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Filling

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (other flavors can be used)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Use a silpat or lightly spray cookie sheets with non-stick spray. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix chocolate and vanilla and add to butter mixture. Stir in, by hand, flour and baking powder. Using small (#10) scoop make a small dough ball. Roll the dough balls in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and press down lightly. It is important to use a scoop to get the cookies of equal size. Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

For the filling, cream shortening, marshmallow, sugar and extract. Add enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Then I place the mixture in a pastry bag (but this could be done with a knife) and put a small amount of filling on the flat side of the cookie. Top with a second cookie. Makes about two dozen.

These cookies turn out like little chocolate snow balls. The cookie recipe has been in my families' cookie repertoire for many years. One day when I was baking for the season my kids decided to take some filling left over from another project and make them into sandwich cookies. The flavor turned out tasty and the filling added gooeyness that made the cookie a little more rich. I have a Giant Schnauzer who enjoys them very much, ate half a plate and the only telltale sign was white dust in his beard.

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Green Tea Honey Cookies
By Stan Heimowitz

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup sliced blanched almonds
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1-1/2 cups honey, any variety
• 2 tablespoons loose green tea

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line four baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet liners.

Mix the flour, cloves, cinnamon, almonds, orange rind in a large bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter until fluffy, add the sugar, eggs, and honey, and beat until smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, blending completely. Add the green tea and blend to incorporate. Drop generous teaspoons of the dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving two inches between cookies. Bake for 16 minutes or until cookies are brown.

Let sit on the baking sheets until cool, and transfer them to a cookie rack.

After a cup of green tea, my family always thinks "Green," by recycling green tea leaves, in our potted plants, adding nutrients to the soil. I've always enjoyed the fragrance and full-bodied taste of green tea. I experimented with green tea leaves in this cookie dough recipe, adding honey and grated orange rind as sweeteners.

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Italian Cassata Cookies
By Daria Casey

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons ricotta cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 2-1/2 teaspoons creme de cacao
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup candied orange peel
• 1/3 cup candied cherries (chopped)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Blend flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and ricotta cheese; add vanilla and creme de cacao and mix well. Gradually add sugar, beating until well blended. Add egg, mix well. Slowly stir in the flour mixture and blend well. Add chocolate chips and both candied fruits and mix well.

Form cookies with a mini-ice cream scoop and drop on to a greased ("PAMmed") foil lined cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Remove from oven; cool on wire rack. Makes 55-60 cookies.

Two longstanding Christmas baking traditions with which I was raised were thousands of Christmas cookies (or so it seemed) and the Italian cake dessert we knew only as "Cassata." Cassata was part of our Christmas dinner dessert, and Christmas was the only time during the entire year when it was served.

Independent of holiday baking, my mother is continuously screening new cookie recipes (for nine grandchildren). A couple of years ago she was about to discard a rather lackluster recipe that featured ricotta cheese. Recalling that ricotta was a key component of the Cassata filling, I rescued the recipe from her and experimented with it in an attempt to reproduce the Cassata flavor in a holiday cookie. My siblings were willing test subjects; this recipe is the end result of those experiments.

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Armenian Lemon Walnut Cookies
By Shelly Allen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 teaspoon brandy
• 1-1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup ground walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine melted butter with 2 tablespoons of water and the brandy. Sift together flour and baking powder and add to liquids with grated lemon rind. Work ingredients together with hands until dough is smooth.

Chill until firm.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board to a thin rectangle. Divide into 24 equal sized rectangles. Place a few chopped walnuts on the center of each rectangle and fold over all four sides to enclose the nuts. Flatten cookies slightly and place them, seam side down, 1/2 inch apart on greased baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Place cookies on a rack and allow to cool.

Cook sugar and 4 tablespoons water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking until liquid is syrupy. Add lemon juice. Cool until lukewarm. Dip cooled cookies in syrup, then in ground walnuts, coating well on all sides. Dry on a rack.

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Kringle's Krunchables
Kristin Ferguson

Cookie Layer:

• 2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ cup cold unsalted butter cut into 16 pieces
• 1 room temperature egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons honey Nut Layer:
• ¾ cup each coarsely chopped roasted salted almonds, pistachios and cashews
• ¾ cup chopped dried cranberries Honey Carmel
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter White Chocolate Drizzle
• ¼ cup white chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon solid vegetable shortening

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray (allow foil to hang over pan edges for easy bar removal).

Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, salt and baking soda in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Process butter into flour mixture for 10 seconds until mixture is crumbly.

Whisk egg, honey and vanilla together in small bowl; pour over flour mixture in the work bowl of the processor. Pulse until dough comes together. Pour dough into a medium sized bowl and knead to incorporate crumbs then press into pan. Bake until golden brown 20-25 minutes.

Cool at least 30 minutes on a wire rack. Coarsely chop the nuts remove ¼ cup of nuts and chop fine, reserve. Spread the 2 cups of coarsely chopped nuts and the cranberries evenly over crust. Drizzle with the Honey Caramel (recipe below) then sprinkle with the ¼ cup of finely chopped nuts.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack, remove bar from pan, place on wire rack then drizzle with the white chocolate (recipe below). Cool completely, *slice and serve.

Honey Caramel: Combine sugars, honey, salt and butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Full rolling boil for one minute.

Chocolate Drizzle: Place white chocolate and shortening into a small bowl melt over double boiler or in microwave. Pour chocolate into a small zip top bag. Snip off a small amount of the corner and drizzle over the cookies.

*Note: For decorative serving use a 2-inch round biscuit cutter to make round cookies. The scraps are delicious as is or reserved for ice cream topping or folded into ice cream for a scrumptious ice cream pie.

Kringle's Krunchables are derived from my son's request for a snack mix cookie with the things he loves such as salted nuts, pretzels, honey and chocolate. The pretzels were left out after tasters complained of wounds on the roof of their mouths and the cranberries were a last minute addition to bring out the Christmas colors. They look like a shortbread nut cookie but the soft cookie base is a wonderful surprise.