With the holidays fast approaching, it seems timely to share three more nominations from readers for best recipes from the Pillsbury Bake-Off, this time for cookies. I'd heard of one of them, Cherry Winks, but the other two were new to me.

Lois Millheim of Nazareth, Pa., wrote that she has been making Coconut Islands for many years. The recipe was a 1953 third-prize winner for Sister Maria Jose Cannon, a Roman Catholic nun from Honolulu who, it was reported at the time, donated the $2,500 purse to her Maryknoll order. It's a moist chocolate cookie with chocolate frosting and a snowy cap of coconut.

Ruth Whalen Kreiger of Palmetto Bay, Fla., has been baking Cherry Winks since they won first prize in the junior category in 1950. Kreiger said she uses green maraschino cherries along with the red "to jazz them up for Christmas." I was skeptical about the cornflakes, but they add a wonderful bit of sweet crunch.

Carol Janssen of Huntsville, Ala. sent the recipe for the Lemon Mardi Gras Squares. "These are very lemony, tart but sweet enough, and they pack and keep really well," she wrote. She said she likes to tint the vanilla glaze with red food coloring for her holiday cookie trays.

2¼ cups flour1 teaspoon baking powder½ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon salt¾ cup shortening1 cup sugar2 eggs2 tablespoons milk1 teaspoon vanilla1 cup chopped pecans1 cup chopped dates1/3 cup chopped maraschino cherries2½ cups cornflakes, crushedAdditional cherries for garnishSift flour with baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside. Beat shortening with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredients. Add the pecans, dates and cherries and mix well.Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. Shape into balls, using a level tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Roll each ball in crushed cornflakes and place on pan 1 inch apart. Top each cookie with ¼ maraschino cherry. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely before storing. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

2 cups flour½ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon salt3 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate¼ cup hot, strong coffee½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine1 cup firmly packed brown sugar1 egg½ cup sour cream1/3 cup chopped coconut plus more to finish<B>Frosting</B>½ (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate1 tablespoon butter¼ cup sour cream1 ½ to 2 cups confectioners' sugarSift flour with soda and salt. Melt the chocolate in the coffee and set aside.Beat butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and chocolate mixture. Add dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in chopped coconut.Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto pans. Bake 12 to 15 minutes.To make frosting, melt chocolate and butter in sour cream. Gradually beat in confectioner's sugar until spreading consistency achieved. Frost still-warm cookies and cap with a little coconut. Makes about 3½ dozen cookies.

1½ cups flour½ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon baking powder3 eggs, separated1 cup confectioners' sugar½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine1 cup granulated sugarZ\c cup lemon juice2 tablespoons grated lemon zest½ cup chopped pecans<B>Glaze</B>½ teaspoon vanilla1 tablespoon cream or milk plus more as needed1 cup confectioners sugarGrease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Heat oven to 400 degrees.Sift the flour with salt and baking powder. Set aside. Beat egg whites until soft mounds form. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Set aside.Beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Add dry ingredients alternately with lemon juice, beating well after each addition. Stir in zest and pecans. Fold in egg whites gently but thoroughly. Pour batter into pan, and bake 25 to 30 minutes.For glaze, stir vanilla and 1 tablespoon cream into confectioners' sugar, adding up to 1 tablespoon more cream for spreading consistency. Spread glaze on still-warm bars. When cool, cut into 24 bars.