Sweets for your sweetie

a chocolate indulgence for Valentine's Day is a must, but that doesn't have to mean excessive fat and calories.

These chocolate-walnut lace cookie ice cream sandwiches can be assembled as spectacular frozen towers, and the nutritional numbers are just as impressive.

The easy-to-prepare cookies are made rich with the healthy fats in chopped walnuts, plus a small amount of intensely flavored cocoa and a prudent amount of butter for that unmistakable taste. High fiber oats add heft and texture to the batter, which is bound together with only a tablespoon of egg white.

As for the ice cream, you can go with chocolate if you want an intense cocoa experience or strawberry to add an appropriate touch of pink. A scoop of each wouldn't be so bad, either.

If you want to be completely virtuous, you can use nonfat frozen yogurt or ice cream, but varieties with even a small amount of fat tend to have a more luxurious mouth feel.

Chocolate-Walnut Lace Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg white

1 pint low-fat strawberry or chocolate ice cream

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and coat it with cooking spray or brush it with oil.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar and butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is melted and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.

Add the oats, walnuts, cocoa, baking powder and vanilla, then stir to combine. Set aside.

In a small bowl, use a fork to beat the egg white until it is slightly frothy. Measure out 1 tablespoon of the beaten white and stir it into the cookie batter; discard the remaining egg white or reserve for another use.

Drop half tablespoonfuls of the batter about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet to make 12 cookies. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies look dry and are just beginning to color on top.

Slide the sheet of foil and cookies off the baking sheet and onto a flat surface. Let the cookies cool completely. Peel the cookies off the foil.

To assemble the sandwiches, set a cookie in the center of a dessert plate. Top with 1/4 cup of the ice cream. Set a second cookie on top of the ice cream, then top that with another 1/4 cup of ice cream. Set a third cookie on top.

As you assemble the sandwiches, place them in the freezer until ready to serve.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 232 calories; 82 calories from fat; 9 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 16 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 2 g fiber; 150 mg sodium.