spellbinders

Makes about 3 dozen.

One of our judges referred to this recipe as "a great after-school cookie." Helen Heath of Golden Valley submitted it, writing, "I am 86 years old. I volunteer at Golden Valley seniors card club, making coffee and treats. We have done this for 20 years. This cookie recipe goes back to my mother and where the recipe came from is perhaps an old World War II cookbook. It freezes well and is easy to carry."

• 1 1/2 c. flour

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

• 1 c. packed brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 c. rolled oats

• 1 c. coconut

• 1 c. butterscotch flavored chips

• 1/2 c. crushed corn flakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda and reserve.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and creamy. Add egg and beat until well-blended. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in oats, coconut, butterscotch chips and corn flakes.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets and bake about 12 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

chocolate macadamia nut macaroons

Makes about 1 dozen.

Adeline Banttari of Cottage Grove found this recipe in Reminisce magazine.

• 2 c. flaked coconut

• 1/2 c. finely chopped macadamia nuts

• 1/3 c. sugar

• 3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 tbsp. flour

• Pinch salt

• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten

• 1 tbsp. light corn syrup

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine coconut, macadamia nuts, sugar, cocoa, flour and salt. Stir in egg whites, corn syrup and vanilla extract and mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on prepared baking sheets and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until cookies are set and dry to the touch.

Remove from oven and cool cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a double boiler over gently simmering water, melt chocolate. Dip bottom of each cookie in chocolate. Place cookie on waxed paper until chocolate is completely set.

maple cinnamon buttons

Makes about 10 dozen cookies.

This recipe must be prepared in advance. A number of our judges were drawn to the salt-sweet mix of this great-looking cookie. "Every spring we excitedly tap our silver maple trees to gather sap and cook it down to maple syrup," writes Laurie Smith of Richfield. "This year we decided to create a cookie that included our maple syrup."

For crust:

• 1 1/2 c. crushed pretzels

• 11/2 c. finely chopped macadamia nuts

• 1 c. granulated sugar

• 3/4 c. melted butter

For cookie:

• 4 1/4 c. flour

• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 3 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature

• 3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar

• 3/4 c. granulated sugar

• 2 eggs

• 3 tsp. vanilla extract

• 6 tbsp. pure maple syrup

• 12 oz. white chocolate chips

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 3 oz. dark chocolate, melted

• 1 to 2 tbsp. shortening

Directions

To make crust: In a medium bowl, stir together pretzels, nuts and granulated sugar. Add melted butter and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

To make cookies: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and cinnamon and reserve. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until light and fluffy.

Add brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and maple syrup and beat well.

Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Gather dough into a small bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove crust and dough from refrigerator. Coat mini-muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. Add 1 teaspoon crust mixture to each muffin pan, patting crust down.

Top each crust with 4 white chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place balls on top of crust. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool cookies completely in muffin tin.

In a double boiler over simmering water, melt dark chocolate and whisk in shortening, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture has a consistency thin enough to drizzle. Remove cookies from muffin pans to waxed paper, drizzle with chocolate and cool completely.

satin glaze date drops

Makes about 4 dozen.

Four readers submitted variations of this recipe. We liked the story behind Patricia Hoyt's submission. The Golden Valley reader writes, "Although my husband graduated from 'Bobbie' to 'Bob' by the time he was in junior high school, my mother-in-law continued to call him the former until she died. At some point she decided that Satin Glaze Date Drops were 'Bobbie's favorite cookies' and made them for him year after year. The daughter of a baker, she was a first-rate cook for most of her long life, but the quality of her cookies deteriorated in her later years. Even so, 'Bobbie' never told her that he didn't like them. Others did enjoy them, and at their mention our daughter was recently inspired to bake up a batch. I submit this recipe [from the 1963 'Betty Crocker's Cooky Book'] in Erma's memory."

For cookies:

• 11/4 c. sifted flour

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

• 1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

• 3/4 c. packed brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/2 c. sour cream

• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

• 1 lb. (48 pieces) soft pitted dates

For glaze:

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 3 c. sifted powdered sugar

Directions

To make cookies: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder and reserve.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until well-combined.

Reduce speed to low, add sour cream and mix until well-combined. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in walnuts and dates. Place teaspoonfuls of dough (making sure there is one date per cookie; dough will form around date) on prepared baking sheets and bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make glaze: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until lightly browned but not burned. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Gradually add 3 to 4 tablespoons hot water until glaze is a thin, spreadable consistency. Using a knife, spread glaze over cookies.

Chocolate cappuccino chip cookies

Makes about 3 dozen.

"My family loves chocolate and coffee," wrote Jeanne Sween of Deephaven. "I developed this recipe to combine the best of both tastes." She likes to make dough, drop it onto cookie sheets and freeze; when frozen she collects the drops of cookie dough in plastic freezer bags. "These cookies are a wonderful last-minute dessert," she writes. "Just pull the number of cookies needed out of the freezer and put them on a cookie sheet. Let them sit for 10 minutes and then bake as directed. Guests love the warm cookies for dessert with a hot cup of coffee after a casual holiday meal." Sween buys Guittard cappuccino chips at SuperTarget.

• 2 c. flour

• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3/4 c. (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 c. packed brown sugar

• 1/2 c. granulated sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp. instant espresso powder

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 c. cappuccino chips

• 1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

• 3/4 c. toasted and coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and reserve.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in vanilla extract, add to dough and beat until well combined. Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Stir in cappuccino chips, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by generous teaspoonfuls on prepared baking sheets and bake 8 to 10 minutes, until cookies are set; do not overbake. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.