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Heirloom Walnut Icebox Cookies

Source of Recipe


From "Maida Heatter's Brand New Book of Great Cookies"






List of Ingredients



• 8 ounces (generous 2 cups) walnuts
  
• 2¼ cups sifted unbleached flour
  
• ½ tsp salt
  
• ½ tsp baking soda
  
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
  
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
  
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  
• ½ cup granulated sugar
  
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 2 Tbsp milk
  






Instructions



1. Break the nuts into large pieces; set aside. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice; set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add both sugars and beat until thoroughly mixed. Beat in the egg and milk. Add the sifted dry ingredients and beat on low speed until incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and with a heavy wooden spatula, stir in the nuts.
   
   
2. Spread out a piece of wax paper about 20 inches long. Spoon out the dough to make a thick strip about 12 inches long in the middle of the paper. Lift the two long sides of the wax paper, bring them together on top of the dough, and with your hands, press on the wax paper to shape the dough into an even loaf about 12 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 1½ inches high, with squared ends. Press on the paper to make loaf as smooth as possible. Place on a cookie sheet or a tray and transfer to the freezer for about 3 hours or as much longer as you wish. (If you plan to leave it in the freezer for more than a few hours, rewrap it in aluminum foil.)
   
   
3. To bake: Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds. Preheat oven to 375° F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with baking parchment. Unwrap the loaf, and with a very sharp knife (one with a thin blade, if possible), cut the frozen loaf into slices a scant ¼-inch thick. Place them about 1½ inches apart on the lined sheets. Bake about 10 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once or twice during baking. When the cookies are nicely browned and spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip, transfer them with a wide metal spatula to racks to cool. Store in an airtight container.
   
   Makes about 60 cookies.