Tasty Tuesday: Holiday Treats

This week's recipe comes from The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe From Each Year 1941-2009

(I loved flipping through this book and seeing all of the old recipes, especially the ones from the post-WWII years. It's illuminating to see the shift in ingredients and techniques as new cooking technologies are introduced.- Megan)

Walnut Acorn Cookies (2000)

Cookies had become such an important part of Gourmet's holiday repertoire that the editors started asking readers to contribute their favorite recipes--and they poured into the magazine's kitchens in such profusion that it was difficult to choose among them. But to our mind, this beautiful, buttery little cookie is the best of a very fine lot. With little effort, you end up with a cookie that looks as if it came from a professional bakery--while possessing the rich, nutty flavor of home-baked pastry.

(Makes about 4 Dozen Cookies
Active Time: 1 1/2 hours
Start to Finish: 2 1/2 hours)

For Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (4 ounces)

For Decoration
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (2 ounces)

Make Cookies

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Mix in flour mixture at low speed, then stir in walnuts.
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
Form 2 teaspoons dough into an egglike shape the size of an acorn. Make more "acorns," arranging them 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in batches in middle of oven until undersides are light brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.

Decorate Cookies

Dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate and then in chopped nuts. Place as coated on a baking sheet lined with wax paper to set, about 15 minutes.

Recipe Note

The cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper, for up to 1 week.

Find this and other great cookbooks in the West Virginia Library Commission Reference Library.