Walnut Cookies

I have a confession, I have an obsession with molds and shaped cake tins. My house is full of them, cute bear cake tins, rose bundt tins, cameo molds...... The list is endless, and even though I only use some of them once I just can not stop myself.

So this here story is about some walnut cookie molds I bought. How cute is it, really I had no choice I had to get it. They are from house on the hill who make the most amazing Springerle and Speculaas Cookie Molds as well as stacks of other baking tools. I go into the online store and I'm lost for hours, sigh.......

So anyway, when I bought the mold it came with some recipes including edible peanut and chocolate playdoh, yum. But today I am sharing a recipe inspired by Martha Stewart Living whom actually introduced me to house on the hill. Note the cookie is very dense as it has to be to hold the shape during baking, so I find it is best to pull the 2 halves apart when eating.
 


The molds are a bit fiddly and until you work out the technique to gently pull the dough out you will be cursing.


Walnut cookies (makes around 25 sandwich cookies)

Cookie dough
2 1/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
170 gram (6 ounces or 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
85 gram (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla

For mold - Icing (confectioners) sugar for dusting

1. Sift flour, salt and cinnamon into a bowl.

2. Beat butter, cream cheese and both sugars on medium until fluffy, about 2 mins. Beat in yolk and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Form dough into disk (about 3cm / 1 inch thick) wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.

3 Dust walnut mold generously with icing (confectioners) sugar. Cut a piece of dough about the size of the mold and press in carefully with fingers working from center.

Gently pull the dough out of the mold with your fingertips and pop onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.



Trim the edges of the walnut cookie with a knife if required. Repeat with remaining dough spacing cookies approx 3cm (i inch) apart. Clean mold as required during this process and add dust with more sugar. Freeze cookies at least 1 hour until very firm.


4. preheat over to 160 C (325 F) and bake until set around 25 - 30 mins. Cool on wire racks and sandwich together 2 cookies with approx 1 tsp filling.

Chocolate filling
180 gram dark chocolate (6 oz. bittersweet chocolate), coarsely chopped
60 gram (2 ounce - 1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave on medium low for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring in between till chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside and cool, stirring occasionally, until cool and slightly thickened.