RetroRecipes: Some of the best cookie recipes IndyStar has ever published

Cookie contests have been around for decades. They test the home cook's baking skills and prove that more than just family appreciates their talent.

In 1954, The Indianapolis Star’s Hoosier cookbook contest drew 2,000 recipes submitted by people in all 92 Indiana counties. Prizes went to 230 recipes, and the results were published in the Sept. 5, 1954, Indianapolis Star. 

If you want to add a new, winning cookie tradition this year, look to the past. 

Mrs. William Prescott of Crawfordsville was awarded 5th place for her wine or rum balls in the beer and wine dish competition.

Wine or Rum Balls

1 cup ground or rolled vanilla wafers
1 cup ground pecans 
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa    
1 ½ tablespoon light corn syrup
½ teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together. Add ½ cup of dark sweet wine or rum. Roll into balls and roll in powdered sugar and store. 

The trick to rum balls is to let them age once you’ve prepared them. Place them in an airtight container for at least a week.

Mrs. Horace Hatch, also from Crawfordsville, took 8th place for her Corn Flake Macaroons.

Corn Flake Macaroons

¼ teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup powdered sugar
2 cups corn flakes
½ cup coconut
¼ cup ground almonds

Add salt to egg whites, beat until stiff but not dry. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time beating until blended. Add remaining ingredients, mix lightly. Drop by teaspoon on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Bakes approximately 2 dozen.

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Joy White of Noblesville was the national winner of the Archway Cookie State Fair National Sweepstakes in 1993, beating out 11 other states with her recipe for Apple Toffee Cookies.

Apple Toffee Cookies

½ cup butter 
½ cup shortening 
1½ cups sugar 
2 eggs 
2 ¾ cups flour 
2 teaspoons cinnamon 
2 teaspoons cream of tartar 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
¾ teaspoon salt 
1 package (6 ounces) almond brickle chips 
1 cup diced dried apples
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Beat butter, shortening, sugar and eggs together until thoroughly mixed.
Stir together flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture; mix well.
Add almond brickle chips and dried apples; mix well. Spoon mixture by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until a light color. Do not overcook. They will not be set in the middle. (Makes 4 dozen 2 ½-inch cookies)

Call IndyStar photo coordinator Dawn Mitchell at (317) 444-6497. Follow her on Twitter: @dawn_mitchell61.