Nutty Pastry Cookies

  • Nutty Pastry Cookies

    These cookies make me happy.

    Even though they score a 7 on the Effort It Takes To Make scale (you know, the scale I just made up right now, where 1 means So Easy You Can Have Your Three Year Old Make This Dessert, and 10 means This Dessert Will Be Annoying So Brace Yourself But You Also Know It Will Be Worth It).

    Seven isn’t a motivating number, I know.  But the smell and taste of these cookies- that score will more than offset the annoyance of having to use the food processor/stand mixer, toast the nuts, mix some stuff, roll the dough out, and then cut the cookies out.  And I haven’t even mentioned baking these yet.  (It sounds like I’m trying to dissuade you from making these, which really isn’t my goal.  I’m just managing your expectations.  And maybe challenging you a bit too.)

    Honest moment: I made these with some of the dough I used when I was making the Nutty Cream Cheese Spirals, because I’m so smart and make more than one dessert at a time.  So I didn’t technically slave away at this recipe from start to finish.  (What’s that you say?  I’m a smart cookie?  Shucks.  I’m blushing.)

    PASTRY:

    1 cup butter (salted), room temperature

    8 oz. cream cheese (1 package), room temperature

    2 teaspoons sugar

    2 cups all-purpose flour

    NUTTY TOPPING:

    1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped

    1/2 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped

    1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    2 tablespoons sugar (for sprinkling tops of cookies before baking)

    1. PASTRY: In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until soft.  Sift flour into bowl and mix to form a dough.  Divide in half and flatten into two separate discs in plastic wrap; allow to chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
    2. NUTTY TOPPING: In a medium bowl, mix walnuts, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon together.  Set aside.
    3. Preheat oven to 375º and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
    4. On a floured surface, roll slightly chilled dough out (one disc at a time) to 1/2 inch thick.  Sprinkle nutty topping over top of dough (1/2 per rolled out disc, of course) and use rolling pin to press nuts into surface of pastry.  Cut rounds of pastry out (using a floured biscuit or cookie cutter) and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.  Sprinkle sugar over tops of cookies before baking.
    5. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.  Store in an airtight container.

    Tips:

    • Want more of a baking spice flavor?  Sprinkle in a 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cardamom.  Yum.
    • Prefer a different combo of nuts?  Go for it.  Chopped up almond are amazing, and hazelnuts are too.  No one is stopping you.
    • Chill the cookie rounds before you bake if you have the time/room in your fridge.  It helps the cookies keep their shape  and also just makes them better.  Don’t ask why.
    • These freeze really well, if you wrap them up tightly to prevent freezer burn.
    • Enjoy!

     

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    September 20th, 2014 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: ,

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