Christmas cookie champ

3. Remove cookies from pans at once. Let cool fully, about 15 minutes. (Cookies may be made up to 1 month ahead and frozen in a tightly covered container.)

4. To decorate room-temperature cookies: In a small bowl, mix the sugar, butter and enough lemon juice to achieve desired spreading consistency. In another small bowl, reserve 1/3 of the frosting, add green food color to tone desired, blending well. Put the green frosting in a plastic resealable food-storage bag, trim the tip at one corner of the bag and use bag as a piping tube for decorating.

5. Coat the cookies with white frosting. Put small dabs of white frosting along the bottom edge of each cookie and attach a candy cane to each as a "skate blade." Break off the tips of the curved ends if necessary. Use the green frosting to pipe laces and bows onto the skate boots.

Per cookie: 90 calories, negligible protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams sugar, 3 grams fat, 5 milligrams cholesterol, 35 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber.

Swedish Almond Wafers

Makes about 50 cookies

3/4 cup finely ground raw (unblanched) almonds

1/4 pound (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons light cream

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a heavy saucepan, mix all ingredients and cook, stirring, over moderate heat until the butter has melted.

3. Arrange by scant teaspoonfuls, 3 inches apart, on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Bake, watching carefully, until lightly browned at the edges but still bubbling a bit at the center, 3 to 5 minutes. As soon as the edge is firm enough to lift the cookie with a spatula, move it to a plate and let cool. Do not stack the cookies. Handle with care.

Per cookie: 37 calories, trace protein, 2 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams sugar, 3 grams fat, 6 milligrams cholesterol, 13 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber.