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Dear Listener:

Wow! Here I sit surrounded by piles of great cookie recipes with the task of selecting just twenty-five. It’s a good thing we choose the finalists from the recipes and not the finished cookies. It hasn’t been easy since this year’s response was the largest ever.

We extend our gratitude to all of our participants, the judges and our prize donors. The staff and management of the Inter-Continental Mark Hopkins Hotel have worked very hard to make our visit to the Top of the Mark a special occasion. Our friends at Hadley’s Dates are sponsors of this year’s broadcast and underwriters of this year’s cookie booklet.

As always, we extend to you and your family our Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday Season and a Peaceful and Prosperous New Year!

Gene Burns

And all of the KGO Family

1. Egg

*www.harpercollins.com check out their selection online or at your local retailer.

Skillet Cookies

By Sara Chappellet

2 cups chopped Hadley’s dates

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups rice crispies

½ cup nuts

Coconut

Stir together dates, eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Put in frying pan. Cook until thick, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add rice crispies and walnuts. Cool until mixture can be handled. Shape into balls and roll in coconut.

Lauren’s Sugar Slims

By Lauren M. Comer

Mix in order:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. almond extract (or vanilla)
2 Tablespoon Karo syrup

Form into 4 or 5 long rolls like wieners ¾ to 1 inch in diameter. Place on 2 long cookie sheets. Flatten slightly and brush tops with slightly beaten egg white. Sprinkle nuts on top or sprinkle with colored or chocolate sprinkles or any other kind of chopped nuts. The cookies will spread! Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until golden. Cut diagnonally while still warm and cool on racks. This usually results in a 1 inch by 3 inch cookie.

*Winter in the Wine country, Spa for Two at the Raindance Spa, Dinner for Two at Carneros Restaurant, and a night in Deluxe Accommodations at the Lodge at Sonoma.

Caramel Apple Bars

By Edie Fisher

½ cup soft butter

¼ cup soft margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 ¾ cups flour

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

4 ½ cups apples---peeled, cored & chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons flour

1 14-oz. bag individually wrapped caramels

In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar, butter and shortening. Combine 1 3/4 cups flour, oats, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture until well blended. Set aside 2 cups of this mixture. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, then toss them with the 3 tablespoons of flour. Spread the apple mixture evenly over the prepared crust. In a small saucepan over a medium heat, melt caramels, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour melted caramels

evenly over the apples. Sprinkle the reserved oat mixture over the top of the apple layer. Press down lightly.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes until the top is brown and crispy.

1. cup sugar

Coconut Joys

By Fran O’Brien

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

2 cups powdered sugar

3 cups (8oz) coconut

2 squares (2 oz) unsweetened chocolate, melted (or use Nestle Choco Bake packets)

Melt butter in sauce pan. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and coconut.

Mix well. Shape rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls. Make indent in center of each and place on cookie sheet. Fill centers with melted chocolate. Chill until firm. Store in refrigerator. Makes 4 dozen.

Sour Cream Twists

By Kathryn Wiese

1 pkg. Active yeast

½ cup warm water

Sprinkle yeast into water. Stir until dissolved.

4 cups sifted flour

1 cup butter (or margarine), melted

1-cup sour cream

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Vanilla

Combine above ingredients in large bowl. Beat until smooth. Cover with damp cloth. Refrigerate at least two hours or up to two days.

1-cup sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon

Combine sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on board. Roll dough into rectangle about
15 x 18 inches. Turn so both sides are coated to prevent sticking. Fold over 3x, as you would a letter. Roll into rectangle 0.25 inches thick, using up all sugar. Cut into strips,
1 x 4 inches. Twist and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for
15 minutes. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Mexican Wedding Cake

By Amy Vernon

1-½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 tsp. of baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

3 Tbsp. Butter or margarine at room temperature

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1-½ cups (about) powdered sugar

1 large egg or you can use ½ cup of eggbeaters

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ chopped pecans

Wax paper

1. In a small bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt (if you are using it).

3. Sift ½ cup of the remaining powdered sugar on wax paper. Roll each cookie gently in sugar. With your fingers, pack more sugar all over each cookie. Place cookies on a rack over wax paper and dust generously with remaining powdered sugar; let cool completely.

2. Eggs

1. Teaspoon Vanilla
2. ½ Cups Flour

¼ Teaspoon Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt

Mint Chocolate Wafers

 

Mix the shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla thoroughly. Combine the dry ingredients together and blend in. Chill the dough completely.

 

Heat over to 400 degrees. Roll dough about 1/8" thick on a floured board. Cut cookies using a cutter of about 2" or 2 ½" (round or other shape), place the cookies on a lightly greased baking sheet. Place a chocolate wafer in the center of each cookie. Using the same cutter or a decorative cutter of the same size cut another cookie to place on top and lightly press the edges to the bottom cookie. The top cookie can also be cut in the center with a small star or heart or other design for a decorative effect. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until very lightly browned. Add sprinkles or other decorations as desired.

 

Makes about 3 dozen.

Pumpkin Cookies

By Nanda Holz

 

 

3. Cups Sugar

1. Tsp. Cinnamon

¼ Tsp. Ginger (powdered)

¼ Tsp. Nutmeg

¼ Tsp. Cloves

 

1-½ Tsp. Cream of Tarter

2. Cups Chocolate Chips (Semi-Sweet)

6. Cups All Purpose Flour

1. Tsp. Baking Soda

1. Cup butter, unsalted, softened

Damma’s Gooey Chocolate Cookie Bars

(makes 3 dozen bar cookies)

By Kathy Drady

2 Cups dark brown sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) soft butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt
2-½ cups flour
3 cups oatmeal
16 oz. Chocolate chips
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan. In a large bowl, beat together brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla until the mixture is creamy. Add baking soda, salt, flour and oatmeal, mixing until well combined.
2. Press two-thirds of the batter into the pan. Combine chocolate chips, condensed milk and 2 tbsp. Butter, spread this filling over the batter in the pan. Spread remaining batter on top of the filling. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting.

1. Egg

1. cup sugar

Nona’s Cherry Wink Cookies

By Louise Pevrazzini

2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¾ Cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks
2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Blend in sifted dry ingredients. Add 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts. 1 cup chopped Hadley’s dates. 1/3 cup maraschino cherries. Mix well.

Shape into balls using a tbsp. of dough for each cookie. Crush 2 ½ cups cornflakes. Roll each ball of dough in corn flakes. Top each cookie with ¼ of a maraschino cherry.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Cornflake Kisses

By Vincie M. Zorich

2 egg whites

1 cup sugar

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups Kellogs Corn Flakes
½ cup chopped walnuts

Beat egg whites until stiff, then gradually beat in sugar, salt and vanilla. Add cornflakes and walnuts last. Mix all these ingredients together and drop by heaping teaspoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake until done or for about fifteen minutes.

Remove immediately from pan with spatula while still warm and enjoy.

Lauren’s Sugar Slims

By Lauren M. Comer

Mix in order:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. almond extract (or vanilla)
2 Tablespoon Karo syrup

Form into 4 or 5 long rolls like wieners ¾ to 1 inch in diameter. Place on 2 long cookie sheets. Flatten slightly and brush tops with slightly beaten egg white. Sprinkle nuts on top or sprinkle with colored or chocolate sprinkles or any other kind of chopped nuts. The cookies will spread! Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until golden. Cut diagnonally while still warm and cool on racks. This usually results in a 1 inch by 3 inch cookie.

Full of Dates Health Cookie

By Stan Heimowitz

Beat together 1 cup butter and 1.5 cups of brown sugar until creamy. Beat in two eggs and one teaspoon vanilla. Add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour, 2 and 1/3 cups regular oats,
2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Mix these ingredients until well blended. Stir in ¾ cup of chopped Hadley’s dates and
1 cut chopped nuts.

Shape cookie dough into a ½ cup measure, level off, and turn out onto a greased cookie sheet, spacing cookies 6 inches apart. Lightly grease the bottom of a pie pan and dip into sugar, and use to flatten each cookie into a 5 ½ inch circle. Even the thickness with your fingers.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-minutes or until the edges brown slightly. Cool on pans about 5-minutes. Transfer to cool rack and cool thoroughly.

Makes 10 cookies.

Banbury Tarts

By Barbara Collier

Pastry for tart shells (I use Pillsbury pie crusts)

1 cup seedless raisins chopped

1 cup sugar

Juice & grated rind of one lemon

¼ cup cracker crumbs

1 egg

Cream

Mix the raisins with sugar and the lemon juice & rind. Add the cracker crumbs & well-beaten egg. Place a teaspoon of raisin mixture on one side of each pastry round, wet edges, fold over and press edges together with a fork. Cut a slit in top to permit steam to escape. Brush the tarts with cream and bake in moderately hot oven, 375 degrees, until pastry is browned. Yield: 2 dozen

Caramel Apple Bars

By Edie Fisher

½ cup soft butter

¼ cup soft margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 ¾ cups flour

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

4 ½ cups apples---peeled, cored & chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons flour

1 14-oz. bag individually wrapped caramels

In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar, butter and shortening. Combine 1 3/4 cups flour, oats, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture until well blended. Set aside 2 cups of this mixture. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, toss apples with lemon juice, then toss them with the 3 tablespoons of flour. Spread the apple mixture evenly over the prepared crust. In a small saucepan over a medium heat, melt caramels, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour melted caramels

evenly over the apples. Sprinkle the reserved oat mixture over the top of the apple layer. Press down lightly.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes until the top is brown and crispy.

Date Layer Bars

By Fran O’Brien

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups quick cooking rolled oats

1 tablespoon water

(see below for ingredients for date filling)

Cream together butter and sugar. Sift dry ingredients together and stir into creamed mixture. Add oats and water. Mix until crumbly. Firmly pat half of mixture in greased

13 x 9x2 inch baking dish. Spread with date filling (see below). Top with remaining crumbs and pat smooth. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 30 minutes or until top is golden. Cool and cut into bars or squares. Makes 32 1 ½ inch squares

Date filling:

In saucepan, combine 2 ½ cups cut-up Hadley’s pitted dates and one cup orange juice, grated rind of ½ an orange and one teaspoon lemon juice. Cover, cook, stirring often until consistency of jam, about 8 minutes.

Jell Meringue Filbert Bars

By Susan Ruiz

½ cup butter

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

2 egg yolks

1 cup flour

Mix these ingredients. Press and flatten with hand to cover bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Spread with jelly (We generally use raspberry.)

Meringue Topping:

2 egg whites

½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup filberts

Beat egg whites until stiff. Beat in sugar gradually. Add cinnamon and fold in nuts. Spread on top of the jelly and return to oven. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool and slightly and cut into bars.

Genie’s Chocolate Dipped Chestnut Fingers

By Genie Malm

6 tablespoons butter

¼ cup sugar

1 egg yolk

½ cup chestnut puree

¼ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 slightly beaten egg white

super-fine sugar

½ cup semisweet chocolate pieces, melted

Cream butter and ¼ cup sugar thoroughly. Add egg yolk; beat until light and fluffy. Beat in chestnut puree and vanilla. Stir together flour, salt and cinnamon. Stir into creamed mixture. Using about a tablespoon of dough, roll into finger shape. Dip one side of finger in egg white, then in superfine sugar. Place sugar side up on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from cookie sheet while hot. Cool on rack. Dip one end of finger in melted chocolate and place on waxed paper until chocolate hardens. Makes 2 ½ dozen cookies.

Skillet Cookies

By Sara Chappellet

2 cups chopped Hadley’s dates

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups rice crispies

½ cup nuts

Coconut

Stir together dates, eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Put in frying pan. Cook until thick, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add rice crispies and walnuts. Cool until mixture can be handled. Shape into balls and roll in coconut.

Mrs. Brosio’s Oatmeal Crispy Cookies

By Sandra Debrichy

1 box (1 lb. 2 oz.) old fashioned oats

1 box (1 lb.) light brown sugar

3 eggs, beaten

½ cup vegetable or canola oil

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray baking sheet with Pam.

Mix oats, brown sugar and oil in a large bowl. Leave in bowl for at least 8 hours.

Mix in rest of ingredients. Drop by large teaspoonfuls on to baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet before removing. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Nana Minnie’s Minty Morsels

By Rita Leitner

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan.

In the top of a double boiler melt two 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate and ½ cup butter or oleo. Let cool for 5 minutes or so. Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar until smooth. Stir in ½ cup flour, ½ cup walnuts and the melted chocolate. Spoon entire mixture into the 9 inch pan, spread evenly. Bake for 25 minutes; cool in pan.

In a small bowl combine 3 tablespoons butter or oleo, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons whipping cream, 1 to 3 drops of green food coloring and ¾ teaspoon mint extract. Beat well, then cover the cooled baked layer with this "frosting". Chill for one hour, until firm.

Melt 4 oz. chocolate, 2 tablespoons butter or oleo, 1 teaspoon vanilla in the top of a double boiler. Drizzle over minty green layer. Chill one hour. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

This year we received two recipes from bakers who live too far away to join us although either entry could have been a finalist. Drew Servizio of Lynn, Massachusettes actually did expect to be here for the Cookie Exchange but his plans changed at the last minute. His alliterative Coke and Candy Cane Cookie recipe is included here along with the festive recipe for Chocolate Sugarplums submitted by Jean Stadsvolt of Santa Fe, New Mexico. We offer these as a Special Holiday Bonus!

Chocolate Sugarplums

By Jean Stadsvold

Santa Fe, New Mexico

2 oz. bittersweet chocolate

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

48 pitted Hadley’s dates

48 pecan halves

Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and stir in chocolate, milk and vanilla. Blend in dry ingredients. Stuff dates with pecans and drop into soft dough, coating the entire surface of the date. Lift date carefully onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 375 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes. When cool, frost with thin vanilla or chocolate powdered sugar icing and garnish with nut halves or coconut. Makes 4 dozen.

Coke and Candy Cane Cookies

By Drew Servizio

Lynn, Massachusettes

¼ cup coca cola

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ crushed peppermint candy cane

1 tablespoon Hershey chocolate syrup

1 egg

2 cups flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 stick of butter

Mix dry ingredients. Set aside. Soften butter. Mix with sugars. Add the egg, lemon extract, coke and chocolate syrup to the sugar mix. Mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture. Add the candy cane and chocolate pieces. Mix.

Place rounded teaspoon of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

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