MOTHER'S CHRISTMAS COOKIE CONTEST: THE TOP 10

Image Gallery A cookie collection: Busia's Yuletide, Mocha Chocolate, Meltaways, Almond Butter, Fruitcake.

Recipes for memorable holiday snacking.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS is staffed by tough, seasoned professionals, able to work under good conditions or bad. And if journalistic enterprise and editorial integrity force us to sample fresh-baked cookies day after day, week after week—well, we're up to it.

"Send us your best recipe," we said in issue 106, announcing our Great Christmas Cookie contest. And you did—almost 200 of you. We sifted through the entries and gave the likely-looking ones to our test bakers, who brought the finished products into the office.

"Cookie test!" Typewriters stopped; conversations ended; offices emptied. Editors and shippers, illustrators and typesetters, administrators and receptionists quick-marched through the halls toward a long table holding half-a-dozen varieties of Christmas cookies.

And now, after two months of such hardships, we've arrived at our 10 favorites.

How did we select the winners? We discussed each batch at length, of course: "Great texture." "Too much salt." "An interesting twist on an old recipe." But there were other indications when we found a really great cookie. People lingered around the table to debate fine points of editorial policy—between bites. They left with groaning plates, explaining, "I know this looks like a lot, but some of these are for my office mates." They returned five and six times, trying to look investigative, instead of greedy. They demanded recipes. ("It'll probably be in the magazine." "I want it now.") They left only a few lonesome crumbs at the end of the day. And weeks later, while they nibbled a cookie that failed to inspire them, they waxed nostalgic: "Remember the cherry walnut bars?" Sighs all around.

Two notes about our testing. First, our bakers used exactly the ingredients specified. If butter was listed, we did not substitute margarine. If there were alternative ingredients, we used the first one. Second, remember that oven thermostats vary widely. We'd suggest that you bake a few test cookies first, to avoid scorching or under baking an entire batch. So here you have them—our 10 favorite recipes from dozens sent to us by our talented readers. We'd recommend that you try every one of them. After all, we've already done the hard part.

Fruitcake Cookies

Most MOTHER staffers subscribe to the theory that there's only one fruitcake in the world, and each year it gets passed from person to person. But every last one of us loved these cookies. 6 cups chopped pecans
1 1/2 pounds candied pineapple
1 pound candied cherries
1 pound dates 1 pound white raisins
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 /4 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
4 eggs
1/2 cup brandy Preheat oven to 300°F. Chop nuts and fruit. In very large mixing bowl, dissolve soda in buttermilk. Add all remaining ingredients and drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. You can vary the amount of batter dropped to produce the size cookie you prefer; 1 1/2 teaspoons rum flavoring may be substituted for the brandy. Note: This recipe yields between 5 and 6 dozen cookies. It's easy to halve if you want to make fewer.
Helen S. Hogg
Saline,Louisiana
Coconut CornucopiasThese elegant cookies use three ingredients treasured by holiday cooks: coconut, brandy and whipped cream.Cookies:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups shredded and chopped coconut
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1 /2 teaspoon baking powder