Posted on: Wednesday, March 30, 2005

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
More on refrigerator cookies

By Wanda Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

You have but to ask.

I got another response to an earlier request for walnut refrigerator/icebox cookies. This one is from a reader who asked that her name not be used; she said her mother got the recipe in high school. Brown sugar as the only sweetener gives this recipe a richer flavor.

Icebox cookies: Beat together vigorously 1 cup softened butter and 2 cups brown sugar; stir in 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix well. Toss together 3-1/2 to 4 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Add flour mixture to sugar-and-egg mixture and stir to mix. Stir in 1 cup chopped walnuts. Lay out plastic wrap on a flat surface; place one-third of the dough on plastic wrap and form into a sausage, twisting ends; repeat with remaining dough. Freeze until firm or chill in refrigerator overnight; cut into 1/8-inch slices and bake at 350 degrees on ungreased cookie sheet.

Makes 84 (2-inch) cookies.

Per 2 cookies: 180 calories, 10 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium, 18 g carbohydrate, 0 dietary fiber, 5 g sugar, 1 g protein

Some time ago, Faith Evans sent in a favorite holiday dessert as a thank you for some help I gave her. She had wanted to prepare this longtime favorite dessert during the holidays, but couldn't find one ingredient: Avoset. This was a bottled, shelf-stable, whippable cream once popular in Hawai'i but no longer available. I helped her figure out how much real whipped cream she'd need to substitute. In return, she sent in the recipe for this layered cheesecake- like dessert dating back to the '60s.

Favorite Christmas dessert: Cream together 1-1/2 blocks softened butter (3/4 cup) and 1/4 cup brown sugar; stir in 1 cup sifted flour and 1/2 cup macadamia nuts. Spread evenly in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool. Make a filling by dissolving 1 box lime Jell-O in 1 cup hot water. Cool. Cream 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar and slowly add lime Jell-O. Whip 16 ounces of whipping cream to soft peaks and fold into Jell-O mixture. Pour over crust and chill. Make a topping by dissolving 2 boxes strawberry Jell-O in 3 cups hot water.

Pour over cream-cheese mixture and chill until set. Cut into slices and serve.

Makes 12 servings.

Per serving: 400 calories, 36 g total fat, 21 g saturated fat, 105 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 9 g sugar, 4 g protein

Hints: Chill beater blades and bowl before you whip cream. Clear top shelf in fridge; once you've pressed in the crust, set the 9-by-13 dish on a rimmed baking sheet inside the refrigerator. Pour the Jell-O layers into the dessert as it sits in the refrigerator; pulling it in and out of the fridge allows for spillage.

Send recipes to: Wanda Adams, Taste Section, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com; or fax 525-8055.