By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

Wednesday, January 2, 2002

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Kisses are the center of
secret cookie stash

Sick of cookies yet? Of course not. Today's requests come from a couple of cookie lovers seeking out specific sweets.

Lu and Dana (mother and daughter) received a gift of cookies that were so good they've hidden them from the men in their family and sneak them out only at night (oops; secret's out). They describe them as a cookie shell wrapped around a chocolate filling and an almond.

Debbie Vietzke, meanwhile, is looking for the recipe for an oatmeal cookie with pineapple that her mother-in-law got off a C&H brown sugar box in the 1960s, but has since lost.

As for request No. 1: Fortuitously, Bette Savini submitted a recipe that sounds very close as an entry in our "In Cookies We Trust" contest last month. We chose her as a finalist, but she wasn't able to bake up samples for judging. We were quite bummed, but this request provided an excuse to test-bake a batch (and taste them).

As it happens, Savini's recipe is very similar to a standard Hershey's recipe, posted on the company's Web site, www.hersheys.com. The Hershey's version, though, has a cocoa-flavored cookie shell. The chocolate filling in both recipes is a semi-melted chocolate Kiss.

The recipe doesn't call for almonds in the center, but you could use the Hershey's Kisses with almonds to get that result. Also, both recipes call for chopped nuts in the cookie shell -- Lu and Dana didn't mention nuts in their description, so I ground mine so they'd blend into the shell.

Both recipes follow.

Now for request No. 2: Pineapple Oatmeal Drops are among C&H Sugar's classic recipes, although they are made with white and not brown sugar. Hope this version suffices.

Secret Kisses for Comfort

1 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3/4 cups flour
1 cup chopped (or ground) nuts
36 chocolate Kisses, unwrapped
Powdered sugar

Cream together margarine, sugar and vanilla. Beat in flour. Fold in nuts. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mold a tablespoon of dough around each Kiss. Shape into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool, then roll in powdered sugar. Makes about 3 dozen.

Cocoa Kiss Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2/3 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup finely chopped pecans
About 54 chocolate Kisses, unwrapped
Powdered sugar

Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. Stir together flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Add pecans; beat until well-blended. Refrigerate dough about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mold a scant tablespoon of dough around each chocolate piece, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool, then roll in powdered sugar. Makes about 4-1/2 dozen.

Pineapple Oatmeal Drops

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1-1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet.

Beat shortening and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg. Stir in pineapple.

Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices; stir into sugar mixture, alternating with oats and nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Makes 4 dozen.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.