HOLIDAY COOKIES FROM SIMPLE TO SENSATIONAL, EVERYONE LOVES 'EM.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

Whether you're a fan of holiday-themed sugar cookies, peanut blossoms, holiday bon bons, Russian tea cakes, Berlinerkranser, linzer squares, fudgy brownies, gingerbread men, sugar plum squares, rum balls, Pfeffernusse or the like, cookies and the holidays go hand in hand. Everyone has a treasured favorite - rich, gooey, homey or fancy - that brings back fond memories and cherished traditions.

``Of all the people in the world, those in the United States are by far the biggest bakers (and consumers) of cookies,'' notes P.J. Hamel, senior editor, King Arthur Flour, in the introduction of the recently released ``The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook'' (Countryman Press; $29.95). ``More than 90 percent of us who still bake at home, bake cookies.

``There are more cookies coming out of America's home ovens than any other kind of baked good,'' Hamel says. And no doubt more during the holiday season than any other time of year. It's not surprising, as nothing compares to the taste of homemade. Cookies make great gifts, good additions to holiday dessert tables, are easy to prepare and transport, and require no special cooking expertise or equipment. Even a novice cook can experience success with a good recipe and minimal effort .

``We baked more than 20,000 cookies - and tested about 600 recipes in seven months to get down to the more than 400 in the book,'' notes Hamel. ``Not only did the cookies have to taste good, but they had to have good texture.'' The goal was to end up with good variations of essential cookies of all kinds and ethnicities, preserve some of the older recipes in the company archives and from employees - and make easy, workable recipes that yield success.

The impressive 509-page, user-friendly volume is jam-packed with all kinds of technique, ingredient and tool tips along with lively recipe headnotes and several color photographs.

Another new cookie cookbook to come along just in time for holiday baking is ``Cookies: 1,001 Mouthwatering Recipes From Around the World'' (Reader's Digest; $35). ``Our readers love cookies and they have broad appeal,'' says Dolores York, executive editor, Reader's Digest books, which currently publishes 20 cookbook titles. Choosing recipes for the book, from baking traditions around the world, was a major challenge, she adds. The company partnered with an Italian publishing firm - and the recipes were tested by Americans in Italy to give the hefty volume international appeal.

``The strength of the book is the variety. All of the recipes indicate level of difficulty, ranging from 1 (easy) to 3 (complicated),'' York says.

The No. 1 problem with cookie making is overbaking, she notes. Be sure your oven is calibrated to the temperature specified in the recipe (use an oven thermometer) and the pan is light-colored.

Other new cookie books on bookstore shelves this season include ``A Baker's Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies,'' by Dede Wilson (Harvard Common Press; $16.95); ``The Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book,'' by Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough (William Morrow; $16.95); and ``The Art of Cookies: Fast and Fun Cookie Decoration,'' by Noga Hitron and Natasha Haimovich (Ten Speed Press; $15.95).

Natalie Haughton, [phone]

natalie.haughton(at)dailynews.com

HOLIDAY BONBONS

DOUGH:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

FILLING:

1/2 cup (4 1/2 ounces) almond paste, praline paste OR marzipan (if you use marzipan, omit sugar from filling)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/8 teaspoon almond oil OR 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (leave this out if you're using praline paste)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup soft, fresh bread crumbs

GLAZE:

1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup 

Sliced almonds for top (optional)

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment, (for easy cleanup) or leave unlined; they don't need to be greased.

To make Dough: In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter until light. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and salt, and beat until fluffy. Add flour and stir until a firm dough forms.

To make Filling: Crumble almond paste into a small bowl. Beat in butter, almond oil and powdered sugar. When mixture is smooth, add bread crumbs and mix until blended.

To shape cookies: Roll filling into grape-sized balls. Break off a piece of dough the size of a table tennis ball and use your thumb to make a deep indentation in center. Place a ball of filling in indentation, then bring dough up and over to enclose it, rolling it in your hands to make a smooth ball. Repeat with remaining filling and dough.

Place bonbons on prepared baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 14 minutes. They won't brown, which is OK. Let bonbons cool on the baking sheet 10 minutes (they're quite fragile while hot) before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

To make Glaze: Melt chocolate chips in a microwave, a double boiler or in a saucepan set over low heat. Add butter and corn syrup, stirring until smooth and glossy. Dip tops of cooled bonbons in Glaze. If Glaze thickens, reheat briefly, then continue dipping. Top each with an almond slice or two, if desired. Let bonbons sit several hours until Glaze hardens, then store in an airtight container. Makes 27 cookies.

From ``The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.''

MAGIC IN THE MIDDLES

DOUGH:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar (and extra for dipping)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large egg

FILLING:

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Lightly grease (or line with parchment) 2 baking sheets.

To make Dough: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another medium mixing bowl, beat together sugars, butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, beating to combine, then stir in dry ingredients, blending well.

To make Filling: In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. With floured hands, roll filling into 26 (1-inch) balls.

To shape cookies: Break off about 1 tablespoon dough, make an indentation in center with your finger, and press one of peanut butter balls into indentation. Bring dough up and over filling, pressing it closed; roll cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Dip top of each cookie in granulated sugar and place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Grease bottom of a drinking glass and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.

Bake cookies in a preheated 375-degree oven 7 to 9 minutes, until set. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Makes 26 cookies.

From ``The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.''

BUTTER-PECAN CRUNCH

1/3 cup (2/3 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

About 9 1/4 whole graham crackers (homemade, if desired)

1 cup chopped pecans

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, salt, vanilla and brown sugar, stirring until butter has melted and sugar is dissolved; don't let mixture boil.

Line bottom of an ungreased (line with nonstick foil for easy removal) 9x13-inch pan with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking them to fit. Pour sugar syrup over graham crackers, spreading to cover with an offset spatula. Sprinkle with pecans.

Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven 9 minutes, until bubbly. Remove from oven and cut into squares immediately. Lift out of pan as soon as they're cool enough to handle; if you wait too long, they'll stick. Makes 24 squares.

From ``The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.''

CLASSIC APRICOT SQUARES

FILLING:

2 cups chopped dried apricots

2 tablespoon brandy (optional)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups water

CRUST AND TOPPING:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup chopped pecans OR shredded sweetened coconut (optional)

Coarse sugar (optional)

Lightly grease a 9x13-inch, 11x11-inch or similar-sized pan.

To make Filling: In a medium saucepan, stir together apricots, brandy, granulated sugar and water and bring to a boil. Cook mixture 8 to 10 minutes, until fruit is soft and has absorbed most of water. Cool slightly, then puree it in a food processor or blender or with an immersion blender.

To make Crust and Topping: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar, salt and baking powder. Using a pastry blender, your fingers or a mixer, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly but will hold together when squeezed. Transfer about 1 1/4 cups of mixture to another bowl, stir in nuts and set aside.

Press remainder of crust mixture into bottom and slightly up sides of prepared pan. Bake crust in preheated 350-degree oven 14 to 16 minutes. Remove from oven. While still warm, spread crust with filling. Spread reserved topping mixture over filling. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired. Return pan to oven, and bake 28 to 32 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Cut into squares. These freeze well. Makes 24 squares.

From ``The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.''

Tips for cookie-baking success

--Butter (unsalted is preferred; always taste to make sure it is fresh) yields the best-flavored cookies. Don't substitute margarine or other fats like diet or light margarine or spreads or blends for butter as they will not yield the same flavor and results as butter.

--Be sure to measure ingredients accurately for best results. Use glass or plastic liquid measuring cups (with markings on the side) for wet ingredients and metal or plastic cups (with a flat rim) for dry ingredients. Measuring spoons are used for smaller ingredient amounts. You can also measure larger ingredient amounts by weight (instead of volume) which is more accurate, but you'll need an electronic kitchen scale.

--Use pure vanilla - no imitations. Use the size eggs specified in a recipe - as the wrong size can make a dough too wet or dry and affect the texture of the finished cookie.

--For best baking results, use shiny, heavy-gauge aluminum cookie sheets with low or no sides. Avoid dark, black or insulated baking sheets. For easy cleanup and removal of cookies, bake on nonstick foil-lined pans or silicone baking mats.

--Preheat oven to desired temperature 10 to 15 minutes prior to baking. Use an oven thermometer to verify that your oven is baking at the temperature you set it for.

--Cool cookies completely prior to storing and pack each kind of cookie in separate containers with sheets of waxed paper in between layers.

CAPTION(S):

10 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) BUTTER-PECAN CRUNCH

(2 -- cover -- color) Santa's favorites

Holiday cookies are sure to please

Harold Deem, Kringle Enterprises, Lake Arrowhead, Calif., is Santa Claus. E-mail him at Kringle1(at)earthlink.net

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) HOLIDAY BONBONS

(4 -- color) CLASSIC APRICOT SQUARES

From ``The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion,'' Countryman Press

(5 -- 10 -- color) no caption (Holiday cookies)

Box:

Tips for cookie-baking success (see text)