Kitchen cabinet: recipes tested in Sunset's kitchen - Sunset magazine

Sunset, Dec, 1997 by Linda Lau Anusasananan

7. Place remaining powdered sugar in cake pan. Gently roll hot cookies, a few at a time, in sugar to coat well. Set cookies slightly apart on piece of waxed paper (about 20 in. long) until almost cool, then roll in sugar again. Return cookies to paper in a single layer. Shake cocoa through fine strainer over cookies. Let cookies cool.

8. Serve, or store airtight at once for up to 3 days. Freeze to store longer.

Per cookie: 61 cal., 59% (36 cal.) from fat; 0.7 g protein; 4 g fat (2 g sat.); 5.9 g carbo (0.2 g fiber); 41 mg sodium; 8.3 mg chol.

J. J.'s Chewy Chews

Audrey Thibodeau, Mesa, Arizona

* This recipe, a favorite with Audrey Thibodeau's family, had been made by many friends before she tried it and added her own innovation. She forms the chewy baked cookies into balls and wraps them individually in colored plastic wrap to tuck into food gift baskets.

Prep and cook time: About 50 minutes

Makes: 3 dozen

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped pitted dates

1 cup finely chopped pecans

2 large eggs

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1. In a bowl, stir together granulated sugar, flour, salt, dates, and pecans.

2. Beat eggs to blend, then add to sugar mixture and stir until well mixed.

3. Spread cookie dough level in an oiled 8- or 9-inch square pan.

4. Bake in a 350 [degrees] oven just until very light brown on top, 16 to 18 minutes.

5. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Cut into 36 squares. With a wide spatula, remove squares from pan; roll each into a ball, then coat with powdered sugar.

6. Serve, or store airtight up to 1 day. Freeze to store longer.

Per cookie: 73 cal., 29% (21 cal.) from fat; 0.9 g protein; 2.3 g fat (0.2 g sat.); 13 g carbo (0.5 g fiber); 19 mg sodium; 12 mg chol.

Brown Sugar Petticoats

Anne Gripenstraw, San Francisco

* As a child, Anne Gripenstraw loved this buttery shortbread as cutout cookies she could decorate with her friends. Now, as a busy mother to 10-month-old Henry, she bakes the dough as a single round, then quickly cuts the warm cookie into wedges - petticoats.

Prep and cook time: About 50 minutes

Makes: 12 to 16 cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter or margarine

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1. In a bowl, mix flour and brown sugar. Cut butter into chunks and add to bowl.

2. With a pastry blender, cut butter until mixture is crumbly and no large particles remain.

3. Press dough with your hands to form a ball, then pat evenly in an 8- or 9-inch-wide cake or cheesecake pan with removable rim.

4. With the tines of a fork, make impressions around edge of dough. Then pierce surface of cookie all over.

5. Bake in a 300 [degrees] oven until slightly darker golden brown, about 40 minutes.

6. While hot, remove pan rim and cut cookie into 12 to 16 wedges. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cool on a rack.

7. Serve, or store airtight up to 1 week. Freeze to store longer.

Per cookie: 123 cal., 42% (52 cal.) from fat; 1.1 g protein; 5.8 g fat (3.6 g sat.); 17 g carbo (0.3 g fiber); 62 mg sodium; 16 mg chol.