Trixie, I made some just like this for the tech support kids at my ISP-they are so happy to get them and I get lots of compliments on them. I think they are great too so know what you mean about saving some out for your family. The kids think the three different chips make a great treat-they are good too with some raspberry chips included also. RL`

Here's a couple thumbprint cookies that are tried & true. Imake them every year. Chocolate Caramel Treasures Cookie type: formed These are another variation of thumbprint cookie. This recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, December 1999. Ingredients For the cookies: 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1 teas vanilla 1 cup flour 2 tbsp whole milk 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 teas salt 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts For the filling: 10 (1 x 1/2 inch) plain caramels, 2 tbsp heavy cream For the drizzle: 3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped Directions For the cookies: Beat together butter, yolk, milk, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Sift in flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until mixture forms a dough. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll tablespoons of dough into balls, then coat with egg white, and roll in nuts. Place balls 1 1/2 inches apart on a greased baking sheets. Press your thumb into center of the balls to flatten, leaving a depression. Bake until puffed slightly but centers are still soft, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press centers of cookies again with a spoon. Let cool. Make the filling while cookies are cooling. Heat caramels and cream in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and mixture is smooth. Spoon into centers of cookies and cool completely. Make chocolate drizzle one hour before serving. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Cool to warm and pour into a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Seal bag and snip 1 corner to form a small hole. Drizzle chocolate over cookies and let stand until set, about 30 minutes. *I never bother with the drizzle. I also usually use walnuts and not hazelnuts. ***************** Austrian Jam Cookies Cookie type: formed My mom originally got the recipe out of a magazine years ago. I don’t know what magazine. These cookies nowadays go by the name thumb print cookies. I like to call them Austrian Jam cookies because they sound more sophisticated that way. I usually double the batch. A single batch will make about 15-18 cookies. A double batch, you will get closer to 3 dozen. Ingredients 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened (not melted) 1/2 cup sugar 1 teas vanilla* 1 egg, separated 1 1/4 cup sifted flour 2/3 cup chopped almonds** your favorite flavor of jam Directions Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and egg yolk in a medium bowl until fluffy. Stir in flour. Gather dough into a ball, cover and chill for several hours. Roll level teaspoonful of dough into balls. Dip the ball into a slightly beaten egg white. Roll the ball into the almonds. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Space cookies 1 inch apart. These cookies will not spread very much. Press an indentation with your thumb in the middle of the cookie, careful not to go all the way through to the pan. Fill with jam. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. *Almond extract can be used in place of real vanilla. ** Generally, I think the almonds are a little too hard for the rest of the cookie. I usually use walnuts or pecans. I like using Polaners preserves for the jam centers. I have also used Smuckers as well as homemade jam.

This is a dessert rather than a cookie recipe but it's full of fruit and fiber. It's originally a low sugar diet recipe but you can use real sugar and butter in place of the substitutes that I used, although it's healthier in the original version. It's really good! PLUM CRUMBLE 750 grams (1 1/3 lbs) plums, halved 1 TBS sugar substitute 1 TBS cornflour 1/2 teasp ground ginger 1/2 teasp ground cinnamon TOPPING: 2/3 cup (75 grams) or (3 oz) jumbo porridge oats (not instant or quick cook oats) 1/2 cup (60 grams) or (2.5 oz) wholemeal flour * 8 TBS sugar substitute 1/4 cup (30 grams) or (1 oz) chopped almonds or pecans 4 1/2 TBS (60 grams) or (2.5 oz) soft margarine, non-hydrogenated** 1 teasp grated orange zest 1/2 teasp ground cinnamon 1/4 teasp ground cardamom 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 2. Put the plums in a bowl with the sugar substitute, cornflour, ginger and cinnamon, mix together and arrange evenly in a deep 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate 3. Topping: - Combine the oats, flour, sugar substitute, almonds, margarine, orange zest, cinnamon and cardamon in a bowl. Using your fingers, rub the ingredients together until the mixture forms a crumbly dough. 4. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the fruit mixture and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the topping is golden and the fruit mixture is bubbling. Source: Adapted from Rick Gallop's GI Diet Green Light Cookbook My Comments: *whole wheat flour including the bran. ** although I never otherwise use margarine, I understand that some of the modern light and non-hydrogenated margarines are ok on this diet and better for you than butter. I am using wholegrain spelt flour at the moment for baking  it contains the bran. This was another surprisingly delicious, easy dessert! I used 6 large, dark purple plums, each one about the size of a small egg. When halved they sat cut side upwards in rows in a casserole dish. I used Becel margarine, thinking it was a good diet choice but afterwards noticed  printed in German in very small letters - that it was not recommended for use in baking. Oh well IÂll just find another brand for next time. of a no-fat no-sugar fruit yoghurt over top. SharonCb

Oh yes lard for sure...but since we like the taste and texture of the butter we usually do 1/2 and 1/2. Our oldest son the chef/butcher has started making tallow candles and selling them. they are wonderful. He scents them with lavender and rosemary. He rends the lard over his charcoal grill...really slow fire. He has already sold tons of them in 4 oz jars. So if you want to try your hand at that you could give some lovely presents. He puts the rosemary branches in as it rends and there is NO odor at all from the tallow...quite amazing. Happy Holidays. c