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Christmas Spice Cutouts

Source of Recipe


From "Williams-Sonoma: Cooking at Home"



List of Ingredients



• ½ cup walnuts
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  
• ½ tsp ground cloves
  
• ½ tsp ground ginger
  
• ½ tsp ground allspice
  
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  
• ½ tsp baking soda
  
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  
• ¼ cup honey
  
• 1 egg
  
• Colored sugar crystals, optional
  






Instructions



1. In a food processor, pulse the walnuts to grind finely (do not grind to a paste). Add ¼ cup of the flour and ¼ cup of the brown sugar and grind to a powder. Set aside. In a bowl, sift together the remaining 1¾ cups flour, the spices, and baking soda. Set aside.
   
   
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together the butter, vanilla, and the remaining ½ cup brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the honey and egg. On low speed, slowly add the flour-spice mixture and the nut mixture and beat just until incorporated.
   
   
3. Gather the dough into a ball, then divide in half. Flatten each half into a disk, wrap the disks separately in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
   
   
4. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter two baking sheets.
   Flour one disk and place between two sheets of waxed paper. Roll out the dough ¼ inch thick. Using decoratively shaped cutters, cut out as many cookies as possible. Transfer the cutouts to a prepared baking sheet, spacing them ½ inch apart. Sprinkle with the crystal sugars, if using. Repeat with the remaining dough disk. Gather the scraps together, reroll, and cut out more cookies.
   
   
5. Bake the cookies until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
   
   Makes about 36 cookies