1986 Winner: Coconut Joys Blueribbon Recipe

  
Yield: 36 Servings
 
    1/2 c  Butter
      2 c  Confectioners' sugar
      3 c  Flaked coconut
      1 T  Milk
      2 oz Semi-sweet chocolate,melted

Preparation time: 30 minutes Chilling time: 1 hour

1. Melt butter in saucepan. Remove from heat. Add sugar, coconut and
milk. Mix well. Shape rounded teaspoon of mixture into balls. Make a
dent in the center. Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

2. Fill center with melted chocolate. Chill until firm. Store in
refrigerator. These freeze wonderfully and look beautiful on a tray.

Winner Shere Case of Hickory Hills describes her cookie entry: "Holiday
preparation usually starts in September and continues until the night
before Christmas. I have been doing this for almost 18 years, and each
year I add more recipes. This particular cookie, passed on to me by my
sister- in-law, Diana Forkash of Wisconsin, ranks among the favorites
of the family and friends. It looks absolutely gorgeous on a plate,
tastes wonderful and is absolutely the easiest thing to make. There is
no baking time involved, and you can sit down on the job and enjoy
doing them."

from the Chicago Tribune annual Food Guide Holiday Cookie Contest
December 4, 1986

1986 Winner: Impatient Person's "I'm Hungry" Cookies
 
      Yield: 36 Servings
 
      1 C Unsalted butter,,Softened
      8 oz Cream cheese,,Softened
  1 1/2 C Sugar
      1    Egg
      1 T Vanilla
      3 C Flour
      1 T Baking powder

Preparation time: 20 minutes Chilling time: Several hours Baking
time: 10 to 15 minutes

1. Cream butter and cream cheese in large mixer bowl. Beat in sugar
until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder.
Chill several hours.

2. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into small balls. Place on
ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with a glass that has been dipped in
vanilla sugar (sugar in which you have stored a vanilla bean) or plain
sugar.

3. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Cool on
wire racks.

Winner Jeanette McCarthy, Downers Grove, Illinois, describes her
impatient person's "I'm hungry" cookies: "When I was a child, part of
our Christmas celebration involved visits to my father's relatives
during the time between Christmas and Epiphany. Great-Aunt Elizabeth
came from a family whose women had been cooks for a wealthy family in
Hungary. As a result, her cooking was usually slightly different and
somewhat elegant.

"A treasured memory of Christmas at Great-Aunt Elizabeth's house was a
cookie that I never learned to eat in moderation. Although my mother
warned me not to say anything, one of the first things I would say upon
arrival was, 'I'm hungry,' hoping that these cookies would appear. Much
to my delight they usually did, and in fact, began also to appear at
Easter, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and any other time we got
together to celebrate." from the Chicago Tribune annual Food Guide
Holiday Cookie Contest December 4, 1986