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Coffee-Walnut Cookies


Coffee-Walnut Cookies

Our recipe for Nocino Mascarpone Cheesecake uses this cookie recipe to create the shortbread-like crust for the bottom of the dessert. The cookies, adapted from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert, (Artisan, 2007,) echo the flavor of the nocino (walnut liquor) while adding a little zip of coffee. They’re great all by themselves too.
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup walnut halves
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons finely ground coffee not instant espresso powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
  • 4 teaspoons brandy or whiskey or dark rum
  • teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, walnuts, sugar, coffee, and salt. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the butter, pulsing to produce a well-mixed but crumbly dough. Add the brandy and vanilla extract. Pulse until the dough just clumps together.
  • Remove from the food processor, lightly knead, and shape into a 2½-inch-diameter log.
  • Wrap in wax or parchment paper and chill for several hours (or up to 3 days).
  • When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Slice the log crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds on two ungreased baking sheets (with or without parchment paper linings). Bake until the centers of the cookies are set and the edges lightly browned, about 12–15 minutes.

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Alice Medrich

Author, pastry chef, and teacher, Alice Medrich is one of the country’s foremost experts on chocolate and chocolate desserts. Since 1976, when her renowned shop, Cocolat, opened and her first dessert feature (of many) appeared in a national publication, Alice’s innovative ideas and recipes and her insistence on quality ingredients have influenced a generation of confectioners, pastry chefs, and home cooks. Among her early accomplishments, Alice is credited with popularizing chocolate truffles in the US and introducing the larger “American” chocolate truffle, now a mainstream confection.

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