Christmas Angel Cookies 1/2 c  Shortening                        1/2 ts Baking soda 1/2 c  Cream cheese, softened            1/2 ts Salt 1 c  Light brown sugar,*                 1 tb Vanilla 1/2 c  Granulated sugar                  2 c  Candied fruit, mixed 2    Eggs                                2 c  Broken pecans or almonds 3 c  Flour * firmly packed The cream cheese gives these cookies a smooth texture, while the fruits sparkle and sweeten the flavor. Nice for using the candied fruits that didn't make it into the fruit cake. Preheat oven to 350x. In a large bowl, cream shortening and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add sugars and eggs, mixing well. In a seperate bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Add flour mixture to egg and sugar mixture; add vanilla. Mix well. Add candied fruit and nuts. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake at 350x for about 10-12 minutes. The cookies will be just browned at the edges. Hint: You may have to mix candied fruit and nuts in with your hands; a little shortening on your fingers will keep the mixture from sticking.

Santa's Thumbprints 1 c Margarine, softened 1/2 c Firmly packed brown sugar 1 Whole egg or egg white 1 t Vanilla 1 1/2 c QUAKER Oats (quick or -old-fashioned, uncooked) 1 1/2 c All-purpose flour 1 c Finely chopped nuts 1/3 c Jelly or preserves Heat oven to 350'F. Beat margarine and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Add combined oats and flour; mix well. Shape into 1" balls; roll in chopped nuts. Place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Make indentation in center of each ball with thumb. Fill each thumbprint with about 1/4 teaspoon jelly. Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Store loosely covered. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.