A Winning Cookie Collection: Twenty original recipes that affirm our reader's rich traditions and flair for sweet innovation - Food Entertaining - Brief Article

Sunset, Dec, 2001 by Charity Ferreira

* For countless families worldwide, cookies define holiday tradition. We wanted to know which ones are an indispensable part of holiday celebrations here in the West, so last year we asked. Readers responded from every part of the West, sending us hundreds of their favorite recipes--cookies that they, their relatives, or friends had created.

They gave us cookies as diverse as the West itself, reflecting influences from Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. One reader remembers making bizcochitos with her mother in Santa Fe; another had obtained a recipe for Chinese almond cookies from her husband's shipmate in World War II. But in true Western fashion, some of the recipes we received weren't old family traditions at all but thoroughly modern innovations.

Awarding the prizes we had offered for the best of the lot was daunting. But we assembled a crack team of cookie tasters and rated from our hearts. We offer you 20 of our favorites here, hoping they'll become part of your own holiday tradition.

* GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Coconut-Cranberry Chews

Nancy Jamison, Woodside, CA

Nancy Jamison was right when she wrote us that these cookies are addictive. We loved their combination of coconut, cranberries, and orange. In fact, these straightforward, tasty rounds are everything a holiday cookie should be. The mixture will look dry until it comes together as a dough. If it's too crumbly to form into balls, the dough needs to be mixed longer; it should be a smooth, homogeneous mass.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 hour

MAKES: About 6 dozen cookies

About 1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 1/2   cups sweetened flaked dried coconut

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 1/2 cups butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until smooth.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat on low speed until dough comes together, about 5 minutes (see note at left). Mix in cranberries and coconut.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 350[degrees] regular or convection oven until cookie edges just begin to brown, 8 to 11 minutes (shorter baking time will yield a chewier cookie; longer baking time will yield a crispier cookie). If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.

Per cookie: 92 cal., 45% (41 cal.) from fat; 0.7 g protein; 4.5 g fat (2.8 g sat.); 12 g carbo (0.4 g fiber); 58 mg sodium; 10 mg chol.

* RUNNERS--UP

Louisiana Pecan Balls

Heather Allen, Aptos, CA

Heather Allen's parents made these tender, melt-in-your-mouth cookies every year; now she makes them with her children. We thought they were the best of their kind.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes

MAKES: About 28 cookies

About 1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped pecans (about 4 oz.)

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat until well blended. Stir in pecans.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 1 inch apart on buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 300[degrees] regular or convection oven until cookies are pale golden brown, about 25 minutes. If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking. Let cookies stand on sheets until cool enough to handle.

5. Place remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar to coat all over; discard remaining sugar. Set cookies on racks to cool completely.

Per cookie: 143 cal., 59% (85 cal.) from fat; 1.3 g protein; 9.4 g fat (4.4 g sat.); 14 g carbo (0.5 g fiber); 73 mg sodium; 18 mg chol.

Napoleon's Hats

Ellen Taylor, Rathdrum, ID

These almond-filled pastries are shaped like three-cornered hats-- thus the name. The smell of them baking always reminds Ellen Taylor of Christmas and her grandmother, who always filled the house with aromas of German baked goods.

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/2 hours

MAKES: About 3 1/2 dozen cookies

About 3/4 (3/8 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

About 2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

3/8 cup almond paste (3 1/2 oz.)

2 large egg whites

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 3/4 cup butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Add egg and beat until well blended. Stir in 2 cups flour, then beat just until dough comes together.