Fancying a Fancy Cookie
You will be after getting a gander at these beauties.
But trust me, they only look fancy as if they came fresh from some chic bakery, where you must have paid a fortune for them.
They’re actually quite easy to make in your home kitchen.
“Walnut Acorn Cookies” is from the new “The Gourmet Cookie Book” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), of which I recently received a review copy. The wonderful book spotlights the best cookie recipe of each year, spanning from 1941 through 2009. for a total of 68 recipes in all.
This particular recipe hails from the December 2000 issue of the new defunct magazine. These buttery cookies with a tender, crumbly texture from finely chopped walnuts in the dough, are formed into an acorn-like shape.
Although the recipe says it makes 4 dozen cookies, I found it made more like 2 1/2 dozen.
Once baked and cooled, one end of each cookie is dipped into melted chocolate, then finely chopped walnuts for a beautiful presentation. Take care when dipping the cookies; a gentle hand is needed or else they may break.
Instead of walnuts for a few of the cookies, I decorated them instead with nifty Callebaut Pearls, which come in both dark chocolate and white chocolate. These are small, crunchy spheres that resemble individual Rice Krispies coated in chocolate. Use them to decorate cakes, cupcakes, cookies and donuts. Though, truth be told, they’re pretty darn tasty just eaten by the handful straight from the bag.
King Arthur Flour, which recently sent me samples of the pearls, sells an 8-ounce bag of the dark chocolate ones for $8.95. Though the company used to sell the white chocolate pearls, it appears from the Web site that this variety is temporarily out of stock. So check back later if those are more your fancy.
After baking a batch, you’re sure to agree that 2000 was a very good year for cookies.
Walnut Acorn Cookies
(Makes about 2 1/2 dozen)
For cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (4 ounces)
For decoration:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (2 ounces) or Callebaut Pearls
To make cookies: Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Mix in flour mixture at low speed, then stir in walnuts.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Form 2 teaspoons dough into an egg-like shape the size of an acorn. Make more “acorns,” arranging them 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in batches in middle of oven until undersides are light brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool.
To decorate cookies: Dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate and then in chopped nuts or chocolate pearls. Place as coated on a baking sheet lined with wax paper to set, about 15 minutes.
Note: Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper, for up to 1 week.
Adapted from “The Gourmet Cookie Book”
More Chocolate: Ad Hoc Chocolate Chip Cookies
More: Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks
More: Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
More: 10-Minute Mocha Pots de Creme
More: Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake
Cute cookies! That is a great idea. Your fancy cookies look very tempting.
Cheers,
Rosa
Your cookies are beautiful! And I think Callebaut Pearls are something I could quite easily become addicted to. 😉
What beautiful cookies! I love the pearls!
I love that book. So many cool recipes. I want to try the sugar shuttles.
I think you should bake cookies every day until you’ve gone through all 68 recipes …. a la Julie & Julia
Oooh, I think the ones with the Callebaut Pearls made them look extra special and extra fancy!
The cookies look wonderful! I’ll have to get that book and try the recipes!
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Ooooh glam cookies. I love dress up days like these. Your cookies look very chcic. Calebaut pearls? WOW…now that’s an idea!
A source for the pearls (and everything else from Callebaut) is http://www.chocosphere.com/Html/Products/callebaut.html#c_callebaut_chef
I -love- callebaut’s cocoa, which I have only found at chocosphere. It is THE best. I use it to make my own chocolate syrup (which, if I may say so, is fanTAStic!). Article on that:
http://feedme.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/03/cocoa_syrup.html
Cute! They look like those mushroom-chocolates biscuits sold in Japanese stores 🙂 (if you know which I am referring to)
Beautiful! I’ve never seen these pearls before, but they make the cookies look like crackers with caviar. How decadent can you get?
OMG! so cute your cookies, i like the little chocolate balls just look like hair! lovely!
They look beautiful! I feel like having one or two right now 🙂
Just gorgeous Carolyn! And I love those crunchy Callebaut pearls! They’re great in mousse too! 😀
speaking of acorns, are they edible? if so, why the heck aren’t we eating them?
nice cookies, carolyn. 🙂
Wow, amazing job on those cookies, they look positively lovely. THe callebaut pearls are so right for this!
*kisses* HH
I do fancy these fancy cookies hehe They look exquisite and you did a great job, they look perfect and ready to be sold in an elegant French patisserie!
Oh btw I’m not sure why but I have not been able to load your site on my pc for a few days but luckily today I am in! 😀
Those acorn cookies are too adorable! A bowlful would make a delightful centrepiece… before they’re all gone 🙂 thanks for sharing!
They look so great with the chocolate pearls! The nuts are a nice topping too, and mix of all three looks makes for one dressed-up cookie platter. Love it!
I love callebaut chocolate pearls! They’re really neat in ice cream, because they maintain their crispness, plus they’re also really cool floating ontop of a chocolate martini.
I’m going to try them. Our family used an old Betty Crocker Recipe that I can’t locate–no walnuts in the cookies themselves. I always modified by dipping the chocolate in crushed Heath Bars.
Hi G. Ryan: Oooh, I love the idea of decorated the dipped cookies with crushed Heath bars. Yum and double yum! Happy baking! Wishing you and your family a very sweet holiday.