Christmas Baking: Cinnamon-Nut Spice Cookies

Last Christmas, when I was pregnant with Madeline, I wanted something.  Desperately.  Cinnamon-Nut Spice Cookies.  I was dying for some, and more importantly, for someone to make me a batch because by that time in the pregnancy, my energy was waning quite a bit.  Forget waning, my energy had gotten up and left the room completely.  No one came to my rescue with a batch of these cookies, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore.  I made the batch myself.  And didn’t share.  So there.

I first discovered Cinnamon-Nut Spice Cookies in January 2007, from one of those Special Interest Publications during the holidays from Better Homes & Gardens (I love the holiday magazines!).  They were very similar to a bakery cookie that my mom and I l-o-v-e, and a heckuva lot cheaper.  Nicholas and I made them this weekend, both because I love them so, and to include as part of our cookie giving crusade.  In the picture of the tray up there, they’re in the middle row, far left (you can always click on the picture to see it bigger).

The recipe could not be simpler, and I think the perfect finish for them (but I ran out of steam this go ’round) would be to drizzle a little confectioner’s sugar glaze over them.  Yum.  Every year, for me, there is one stand-out cookie recipe that takes the prize as the Cookie of the Year, and this was the one for 2007.  I’ve yet to find the one, the stop-the-presses one for this year, and only have a week to go!  Do you have one that took the Cookie of the Year distinction for ’08?

Light with a slight crisp, cinnamony sugary and airy and perfect … for your holiday cookie trays, pregnancy cravings or my favorite reason … just because!

Cinnamon-Nut Spice Cookies
Recipe courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies 2006

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, the baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, and allspice; beat until fluffy. Add egg; beat until combined. Gradually add flour, beating until well mixed. Stir in walnuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I greased mine). In a small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle dough mounds with sugar mixture. (Why dirty a bowl? Use a Ziploc bag to mix the two; I did). Bake in preheated oven for 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are firm. Let stand on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Makes about 48.

To Store: Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight storage container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

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