Day 9 … Black Walnut Cookies with Maple Glaze

One week people. One week until Christmas Eve. I am nowhere near ready but that’s neither here nor there because we are officially ¾ of the way through this year’s 12 Days of Cookies and that is cause for celebration. To date, if you count previous years, we have 33 completely different cookies made from one basic cookie dough, and 33 is a very lucky number in my world. So huzzah to us all! Even better, today’s cookie has one of my favorite ingredients AND a glaze. I do so love a glaze. For Day 9 … Black Walnut Cookies with Maple Glaze.

If you’ve been following along, you know I’m a big fan of a slice-and-bake cookie. Having a log of cookies dough – or a few logs – stashed in your freezer is one of the best holiday party tricks ever. You can knock off a few dozen cookies in no time and look like a superstar. Today’s cookie is studded with black walnuts, which have a bolder, earthier and less tannic flavor than a traditional walnut but they can be a bit hard to find. Last year when I missed them at my farmers market, I bought some online from Nuts.com and was very pleased. Stored in the freezer, they held up very well for quite some time and I found myself throwing them in everything. I realize it’s may be a bit too late to order for this season but look around; I’ve seen them occasionally at Whole Foods. And know that regular walnuts will work great in this recipe, of course. Just make sure they’re fresh. I’ve had a bout of bad luck with store bought walnuts recently. Boooo.

I really enjoy walnuts + maple so to the basic dough, there’s maple syrup (the darker, the better) and pure maple extract. If you are not familiar with maple extract, this is one you need to know. It’s kicks up that maple flavor quite nicely without adding excess liquid and sugar (I buy mine at Whole Foods or Spice House or Amazon.) I prefer the natural version to the artificial as well. It’s like comparing pure maple syrup to Aunt Jemima. (We may all love Aunt Jemima but know she’s got nothing to do with maple syrup.) A bit of bourbon, some brown sugar and a few other things and the dough is rolled into a log and chilled. Slice, bake and drizzle with a maple flavored glaze, they are pretty delicious. But isn’t anything with a glaze delicious?

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: DRIZZLE LOVE. An icing drizzle can take a cookie from ok to sublime in just a few minutes. Here that glaze is flavored with maple and salt. Don’t forget the salt, it is very important. Drizzled back and forth, the process is mesermizing. And then you need to let them set until that icing hardens or you’ll muck up all your hard work and the cookies will stick together. Heed the advice from that old TV commercial – set it and forget it.

2016 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies lineup: Jam Thumbprints, Mexican Chocolate Crinkles, Butter Rum Bars, Cranberry Pistachio Coins, Candied Ginger Spice Buttons, Russian Tea Cakes, Rosemary Apricot Shortbread, Chocolate Hazelnut Buttons, Dark Chocolate Mocha Sandwich Cookies, Coconut Lime Sticks, Pecan Triangles, Peppermint Crisps

2017 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies lineup: Cream Cheese Wreaths, Raspberry Linzer Bars, Lemon Poppyseed Buttons, Chocolate Cocoa Nib Wafers, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Orange Sandwich Cookies, Raspberry Chocolate Drops, Blueberry Lime Buttons, Cardamom Rose Coins, Banana Walnut Bars, PBJ Sandwich Cookies, Bourbon Glazed Fruitcake Buttons

2018 One Dough/12 Days of Cookies lineup to date:
Basic Butter Cookie Dough
Day 1: Jam Streusel Tarts
Day 2: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels
Day 3: Orange Sesame Crisps
Day 4: Almond Raspberry Strips
Day 5: Peppermint Brownie Bars
Day 6: Pecan Tassies
Day 7: Lemon Cornmeal Biscotti
Day 8: Date Nut Swirls

DAY 9: BLACK WALNUT COOKIES WITH MAPLE GLAZE

Basic butter cookie dough, room temperature – recipe here

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the room temperature cookie dough, maple syrup, brown sugar, maple extract, bourbon (or vanilla) and salt until well combined.
3. Add the walnuts and mixed until just incorporated.
4. Divide the dough in manageable pieces and roll each on a piece of plastic wrap into a nice round log, around 6” long and 2” thick (1/8 batch = 2 pieces, ¼ batch = 4 pieces, ½ batch = 8 pieces).
5. Chill at least 4 hours.
6. With a sharp thin knife, cut the log into ¼” rounds, rotating the log frequently to keep from getting a flat spot. If the dough was frozen, give it a few minutes to soften just a little before slicing. If you’re having trouble getting nice, clean slices let the dough warm for a minute or two. If the dough is too warm and the slices are misshapen, place back in the refrigerator for ½ hour.
7. Place cookies 1” apart on parchment lined sheet pans.
8. Bake 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through until lightly golden brown.
9. For the glaze: in a large bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth.
10. Transfer to a piping bag or a Ziploc bag and snip the corner.
11. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and let sit until the glaze hardens, about 1 hour.
12. Transfer to an airtight container for longer storage.
13. Do ahead: it’s best to make and freeze the dough logs and bake as needed rather than freeze baked cookies. Frozen dough will keep up to 3 months.

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