According to the calendar it's Thanksgiving week. Yet as I drive through my town at night one would think we are in the midst of the Christmas holidays. It seems previously held norms for celebrating one holiday at a time along with decorating traditions have gone to the wayside in 2020. Why was I so surprised by this? For now all of my holiday decorations will remain in the attic. They may or may not see the light of the day this year. For the moment, I am going to do my best to just enjoy one holiday at a time. Even if that means being a bit of an outlier by not jumping on the pre-Thanksgiving Christmas decorating bandwagon. It may be the only pandemic trend I am not getting caught up in this year. Which may seem a bit out of character for someone who was making homemade no knead artisan bread, drinking Dalgona coffees, and assembling thousand piece puzzles within hours (okay well maybe it was days) of their dominance on social media.
Regardless of whether or not any or all of the Christmas boxes come down from the attic this year, holiday baking will not be cancelled! More than twelve pounds of butter along with pounds of flour, sugar, chocolate and nuts have been stockpiled in anticipation of keeping my holiday cookie baking and confections making traditions alive. While there is always some predictability about which cookies and confections get made for the holidays, there are always a couple of new things added or favorites resurrected each year. Fruit and Nut Bark, Homemade Nutty Granola with Dried Cranberries and Cherries and these Spice Walnut Cookies with White Chocolate Drizzle will definitely be making their first time Christmas appearances. The other new contenders as well as what will go on hiatus this year will remain secret for now. It may be Thanksgiving week, but it's cookie baking week year round around here.
The holidays seem to call for cookies flavored with warm spices to tingle our taste buds. In these Spice Walnut Cookies w/ White Chocolate Drizzle cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves combine to create a perfect, deeply spiced cookie. I had first tried coating them with a rum glaze, but the creaminess of a white chocolate drizzle made for a much better flavor contrast and compliment to the crisp, spicy cookie. It also added just the right amount of decadence.
The chilling time for the dough is relatively short. After only thirty to forty minutes in the refrigerator, the dough rolls out beautifully.
Once cooled they can be gussied up with some melted white chocolate and sparkling sugar. Holidays or not, I wouldn't make these Spice Walnut Cookies w/ White Chocolate Drizzle any other way.
As you get ready for the holiday baking season, make certain you have some cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, walnuts, white chocolate, and sparkling sugar in your pantry. If you love aromatically spiced cookies, odds are you will be making a second batch of these after you taste them. I wouldn't be surprised if they go on your 'must make' holiday cookie list for years to come!
Happy Thanksgiving week to all of you! However, with who ever and wherever you celebrate this untraditional traditional holiday this year, I wish you all a very blessed day.
Recipe
Spice Walnut Cookies w/ White Chocolate Drizzle
Makes 24-26 medium sized cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
1/2 cup (55g) walnuts, toasted and finely ground
1 1/4 cups (163g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
8 Tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (105 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
5 ounces (144g) white chocolate (see notes)
2 Tablespoons sparkling sugar
Directions
Cookies
1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the finely ground walnuts, all-purpose flour, baking powder, Kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves until combined. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed for one minute.
3. Add in the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Continue beating the mixture until fluffy (approximately 3-4 minutes).
4. Beat in the egg until it is fully incorporated.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined.
6. Scrape dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Shape dough into a 6" x 1" square. Wrap tightly and place in the refrigerator. Let the dough chill for 30-40 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. Remove dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap and cut it in half. Return one half back to the refrigerator.
9. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of dough halves to 1/4" (6mm). Cut into desired shapes. Note: (I used a 2 1/4 inch round cookie cutter).
10. Arrange cut shapes onto a prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between each cookie.
11. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through the baking process, until cookies are golden.
12. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to come to room temperature.
13. Roll out remaining dough and bake according to directions above. Note: You can reroll the scraps of the dough.
14. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler. Drizzle the melted chocolate over each cookie. Lightly sprinkle with the sparkling sugar.
15. Let cookies set completely before serving or packaging. Store cookies in a tightly sealed contained or in cellophane bags tied tightly with string or ribbon.
Notes: (1) I use a 2 1/4 inch round cookie cutter. (2) Toast your walnuts at 350 degrees (F) for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Allow to cool before placing in a food processor to achieve a finely ground consistency. (3) I used the Ghiradelli White Chocolate Melting Wafers. Nowadays you can find them at many grocery stores in the baking aisle.