The Perfect Cookie: Your Ultimate Guide to Foolproof Cookies, Brownies & Bars by America's Test Kitchen

Author:America's Test Kitchen
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781940352954
Publisher: America's Test Kitchen
Published: 2017-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

FROSTED WALNUT DROPS

Makes about 30 cookies

1¾ cups walnuts, toasted

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces) granulated sugar

1 large egg yolk

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

½ cup (2 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

Why This Recipe Works Sometimes walnuts are stirred into brownie batter or sprinkled over shortbread, but when it comes to nut-based cookies, it seems like peanuts, almonds, and pecans have all the fun. We wanted a cookie that featured buttery, earthy-tasting walnuts, one where they would be more than just a mix-in. To do this, we finely ground a generous amount of walnuts to form the base of a rich butter-cookie dough. Using the ground nuts in place of much of the flour allowed their flavor to permeate the dough, but we went a step further by mixing even more chopped walnuts into the dough for textural contrast. Toasting the walnuts before grinding and chopping enhanced their nutty presence. The high proportion of nuts in the dough made these cookies fragile, so we added an egg yolk to help hold them together. Our walnut cookies were delicate, ultratender, and elegant, but to up their sophistication even more, we topped them with a silky cream cheese frosting—the perfect counterpart to these rich, buttery cookies—and sprinkled them with more chopped walnuts for visual appeal.

1 Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2 Process 1 cup walnuts, flour, and salt in food processor until walnuts are finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add ½ cup walnuts and pulse until finely chopped, about 8 pulses. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat 8 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and ½ teaspoon vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, slowly add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.

3 Working with 1 tablespoon dough at a time, roll into balls and space them 1½ inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake until edges are just beginning to brown, 16 to 18 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool completely.

4 Using clean, dry mixer bowl and paddle, mix cream cheese, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and remaining ¼ teaspoon vanilla on medium-low speed until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Process remaining ¼ cup walnuts in food processor until very finely chopped, 10 to 15 seconds. Spread frosting evenly over cookies, sprinkle with walnuts, and serve.

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