These cookies are one of Greg’s favorites — because he loves anything baked with walnuts. Light and fluffy with a hint of nutmeg, they really almost melt in your mouth. This recipe is surprisingly easy  (you may never buy cookies again), but you do need a food processor. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

cookies_walnut_ crescents

Ingredients:

  1. 1 C. all purpose flour
  2. 3/4 C. (3 oz.) walnuts
  3. 1/2 C. chilled unsalted butter cut into pieces
  4. 1/4 C. granulated sugar
  5. 1 tsp. vanilla
  6. 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  7. pinch of salt
  8. Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions:

  • Preheat over to 325 degrees
  • In a food processor, combine first 7 ingredients (everything but the confectioners sugar) and pulse until the mixture becomes a coarse meal.  Then process continually until the dough begins to gather together
  • Pinch off about 2 tsp. of dough and roll between your palms to form a rope of about 2.5 inches long, slightly tapering at both end. Place the cookie in a crescent shape on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough, spacing the cookies about 1″ apart
  • Bake until just firm to touch, about 20 minutes.  Let cool for about 5 minutes on the pan
  • Transfer to a cooling rack until they cool completely
  • Using a sieve, lightly dust the cookies with confectioners sugar. Store at room temp for up to 5 days.

Lessons Learned/Advice:

  • I often cut the butter into cubes on a small cutting board, then place the whole board in the fridge to keep it cold.  I’ll even do it a few hours before I’m baking.  This one step seems to make it all go smoother when I’m ready to bake.
  • When rolling cookies in your hands, it helps to keep them cool so the dough doesn’t get too warm and stick to your hands.  Having a bowl of cold (even icy) water near by helps: rinse, dry and go back to rolling.  Repeat.

Credit:

With apologies to the author, a photo copy of this recipe lives in my “binder” of most loved recipes but the source is not noted. So I don’t know which cookbook author to give credit to.  If it’s yours, let me know. But I think it came from a cookbook that I still own, so when I find it, I’ll add the credit.

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