4 cups flour (no need to sift pack it down in the cup when

you measure it)

1 package of candy corn Melt the b.u.t.ter in a microwave-safe bowl for 90 seconds on HIGH.

Add the sugar to the melted sugar and mix well. Set the bowl on the counter and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

When the b.u.t.ter and sugar mixture has cooled, add the egg and stir it in until it"s thoroughly incorporated. Then add the mashed pumpkin, chopped walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, vanilla extract, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix thoroughly Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition. Let the cookie dough sit for 5 minutes to "rest."

Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet, 12 cookies per standard-sized sheet. Flatten the cookies with a greased spatula. (If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate it for 20 to 30 minutes and then try it again.) Bake the Corn Cookies at 375 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes.

When the cookies come out of the oven, leave them on the cookie sheets and immediately press pieces of candy corn on top as a design. Do this right away so that the candy will stick after the cookies have cooled.39 Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 6 to 7 dozen, depending on cookie size.

Tracey"s friends really loved these cookies and they all offered to help me decorate them next year.

*CRANBERRY PINEAPPLE DROP COOKIES.

DO NOT preheat your oven - this cookie dough must chill overnight before baking.

2 cans (8 ounces net weight for each can) crushed

pineapple (I used Dole)

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces, pound) salted b.u.t.ter, softened

2 cups white (granulated) sugar

8 ounces sour cream (that"s one cup)

teaspoon pineapple extract (if you can"t find it,

subst.i.tute vanilla extract)

1 and teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder (that"s 1 Tablespoon)

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 large eggs

3 cups sweetened dried cranberries40

5 cups flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

2 cups chopped pecans (or any other nut you like)

1 cup white (granulated) sugar in a small bowl for rolling dough b.a.l.l.s41 Hannah"s 1st Note: Mixing up these cookies takes no time at all if you use an electric mixer.

Open the can of crushed pineapple and dump it in a strainer. It needs to drain while you start the cookie dough.

In a large bowl, mix the softened b.u.t.ter with the sugar until they"re light and fluffy.

Add the sour cream and mix well.

Mix in the pineapple extract, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Pat the drained, crushed pineapple down in the strainer to get out all the juice. You can even pat it dry with a paper towel. When it"s as juice-free as you can get it, add it to your cookie dough and mix it in.

Mix in the sweetened dried cranberries.

Add the flour in one-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

Mix in the chopped pecans (or other chopped nuts) and mix well.

Cover your cookie dough with plastic wrap, pressing it down on top of the dough in your bowl. Refrigerate it overnight.

When you"re ready to bake the next morning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Use a teaspoon (one from your silverware drawer, not a measuring spoon) to scoop out enough dough to make a ball that"s 1 inch in diameter. Drop the dough ball into the sugar in the bowl and roll it around with your fingers until it"s coated. Then place it on a greased (or sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray) cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. (You can also cover your cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking paper.) Use the flat blade of a metal spatula to flatten the cookies on the cookie sheet.

Bake the Cranberry Pineapple Drop Cookies at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes or until nicely golden on top. (Mine took 16 minutes.) Let the cookies cool for two minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: Approximately 6 dozen delicious cookies Hannah"s 2nd Note: When we bake these down at The Cookie Jar, Lisa and I usually top half of the cookies with red sugar and the other half with green sugar.

Lisa"s Note: Pineapple is Herb"s favorite fruit. Last Christmas I had to bake 4 batches of these cookies. Every time I baked a batch and put them in the freezer, Herb found them and ate them before I could serve them to company. I guess I should have wrapped them in freezer paper and labeled them Lutefisk, the way Hannah suggested. By the way, Cranberry Pineapple Drop Cookies freeze beautifully.

DESPERATION COOKIES.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

2 cups melted b.u.t.ter (4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound)

3 cups white (granulated) sugar

1 and cups brown sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

4 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a gla.s.s with a fork)