Cranberry oat thumbprints

MAKES 54 COOKIES

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup ground toasted walnuts

Æ teaspoon salt

1 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

For cookies: Beat butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer until creamy. Combine flour, walnuts and salt; add to butter mixture. Beat just until combined. Add oats; beat just until combined. Cover and refrigerate dough until firm, about 2 hours or overnight. (If dough is refrigerated overnight, allow to stand covered at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before shaping.)

For filling: Combine cranberries, granulated sugar and water in small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer gently, stirring frequently, until cranberries pop and mixture thickens. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Use thumb to make deep indentation in center of each ball. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely.

Store cooled cookies at room temperature in airtight container, separating layers with parchment or waxed paper, up to three days or freeze up to three months. Thaw in container at room temperature.

To serve, fill centers of each cookie with ½ teaspoon cranberry filling. Melt chocolate chips, according to package directions. Transfer to resealable plastic sandwich bag and seal. Snip tiny piece from corner of bag. Pipe chocolate over each cookie. Refrigerate just until chocolate sets.

Quaker Oats

Nutrition facts per cookie: 85 calories, 5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 30 mg sodium, 0 g fiber