The PG's Arlene Burnett spent a week testing reader-submitted cookie recipes. We presented half of them last week.

Here's the rest, to give you one more shot at having a sweet holiday.

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Patty Freeman of Wintersville, Ohio, says these creamy, no-bake cheesecake-like treats, which combine semi-sweet chocolate and coconut in a graham-cracker crust, get rave reviews from friends.

"I take them to work occasionally," she writes, "and they are gone before you know it!"

The ingredients are simply pressed into a graham cracker crust, chilled and cut into squares.

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature, divided
• 6 1-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Microwave 3/4 cup of the butter and 2 ounces of chocolate squares 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or until melted. Stir in crumbs, coconut and walnuts. Press into bottom of a 13-by-9-inch pan. Chill for 30 minutes.

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Spread evenly over crust. Chill 30 minutes. Microwave remaining butter and chocolate squares 1 to 2 minutes stirring, every 30 seconds until melted. Spread over cream cheese layer. Chill; cut into squares. Makes about 48 cookie squares. Tip: If you're in a hurry, you can chill in the freezer for 15 minutes instead of the 30 minutes, and the squares will be easier to cut if you score the chocolate before it has set.

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"While these are not typical Christmas cookies, they're awesome and would be wonderful for the holidays," said Susan Cohen of Squirrel Hill, who submitted a recipe featured in her self-published cookbook, "Seasoned With Love," 1990.

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt unsweetened chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and butter together in top of a double boiler (or in the microwave) stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat eggs, sugar, coffee and vanilla. Add cooled chocolate and then dry ingredients. Beat only until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by heaping teaspoons l inch apart on lightly sprayed aluminum foil that has been cut to fit cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 to 20 minutes. Tops will be dry and crisp. Insides should be soft. Do not overbake.

Remove to rack to cool.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

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"This recipe originated with my husband's grandmother who never measured ingredients," says Judy Pistoria of West Deer. "Over the years I've tweaked her recipe and come up with this version that I've been making for over 30 years."

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 5 cups flour, more if needed
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup sour milk (add 1 teaspoon white vinegar to 1 cup milk)
• 1/2 cup orange juice with pulp
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 jar drained maraschino cherries, chopped
• 2 (11-ounce) cans mandarin oranges, very well drained

For the icing

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 large orange, room temperature
• Bottled orange juice, if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer mix 1 cup of softened butter and the granulated sugar; add eggs and mix. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Alternately add the flour mixture, milk and orange juice to the sugar and butter mixture. Add more flour (not sifted) if batter is too wet. Stir in coconut, maraschino cherries and mandarin oranges by hand. Batter should be thick.

Drop by tablespoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

Remove cookies from cookie sheet and place on a rack to cool completely.

Icing

Remove orange zest with a grater; set aside. Squeeze the juice from the orange.

Mix confectioners' sugar, butter and orange juice until smooth. If the mixture is too thick to spread, add 1 teaspoon of orange juice at a time until the mixture is of a spreadable consistency.

Ice cookies and immediately sprinkle with a few of the grated orange shavings. Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow icing to dry before packaging. Place in container with waxed paper between each layer. If desired, enclose each container in a large plastic bag before freezing to keep out air.

Makes 5 to 7 dozen.

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"This recipe has been in our family for many, many years," writes Donna Todarello of Oakmont.

Filling

• 1 pound dates, chopped fine
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Place ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally. Cook until thickened; set aside to cool while you make the dough.

Dough

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream shortening and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, soda, salt; add flour one cup at a time to shortening mixture, mixing after each addition. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick; spread each rectangle with cooled date filling. Roll up jellyroll fashion and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate overnight.

Grease cookie sheets or coat with cooking spray. Cut rolls into 1/4-inch slices and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Store in tins or boxes between layers of waxed paper.

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While her mother tried many cookie recipes, Nikki McBride, who grew up in Wisconsin, says they never quite topped this family favorite, which marries a soft bar cookie with melted chocolate.

"I looked forward to eating them as soon as I got home," she writes. Now a mother of two, the Mt. Lebanon resident has continued the tradition in her own kitchen.

• 2 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup sifted flour
• Dash of salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (we did not add these to our bars)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square pan. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over hot water, or microwave. Beat eggs until frothy. Stir in sugar, chocolate mixture and peppermint. Add flour, salt and nuts. Mix thoroughly. Pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Cool.

Filling

• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1 cup confections' sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon cream or milk
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Mix butter with powdered sugar. Add the cream and peppermint extract. Stir until smooth; add more cream/milk if needed to thin. Cover iced bars and store in refrigerator while you make the glaze:

Glaze

• 1 square unsweetened chocolate
• 1 tablespoon butter

Melt chocolate and butter over hot water or in the microwave. Mix thoroughly and dribble over filling. Tilt bars to cover with glaze. Refrigerate at least 5 minutes. Cut into bars.

Makes about 48.

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"Here's a recipe from my sister Cheryl," writes Tom Atkins of Peters. "She makes a tin full of cookies every Christmas for all of us. She gives them out on Christmas Eve at my sister Marilyn's gathering. I love the tradition."

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 6-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries, drained
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat eggs until light; add sugar gradually, beating well after each addition. Stir in almond flavoring, then dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips, dates, cherries and nuts. Spread dough evenly in greased 9-by-13 inch pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until tested done.

If desired, when cool, frost with powdered sugar icing. Cut into bars.

Makes about 3 dozen.

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• 3 cups butter, room temperature
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 6 cups flour
• Granulated sugar
• Wafers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, cream and flour until a dough forms. Cover and chill 3 hours or overnight. Remove a portion of the dough, leaving the remaining dough chilled until needed.

On a lightly floured surface roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into 1 1/2-inch circles. Sprinkle both sides of cookie with sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Prick each cookie with a fork about four times. Bake 7 to 9 minutes (the cookies will not brown). Cool on wire rack. Spread filling onto the flat side of a cookie. Place another cookie (flat side) over filling.

Filling

Cream 3/4 cup softened butter with 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla and beat until smooth. Add desired food coloring to tint the icing.

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Rich Caposy of Washington County can turn out at least 28 nut rolls in a day. Why? "I have fun baking," he said. With a fierce sweet tooth and no one to supply him with homemade baked goods, he decided to give baking a try and found out he had a knack. That was two years ago. He was giving his bounty away to family and friends until someone suggested he sell his nut rolls. Today he sells them for $10 each. And he's still having fun. "I turn the pans halfway through baking to ensure even browning and baking," Mr. Caposy said.

Filling

• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 pounds walnuts, ground
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 egg whites (save yolks for dough)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook honey and sugar until boiling. Lower heat; add remaining ingredients and cook about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and refrigerate.

Dough

• 3 1/4-ounce packages dry yeast or 1 0.6-ounce compressed yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
• 7 cups flour
• 1 pound butter
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 8 ounces sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix yeast with warm water. Set aside. Mix flour and butter until dough forms. Add egg yolks, salt, sugar, sour cream and yeast mixture. Knead until a dough forms.

Divide dough into 7 portions. Roll dough into thin (about 1/8- inch) pieces.

Spread filling over dough and roll (like jelly roll).

Place nut rolls on foil-lined cookie sheets. Cover nut rolls with a damp cloth. Let nut rolls sit for 10 minutes.

Bake for 15 minutes then turn the baking sheet around and continue to bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 7 nut rolls.