Thyme Walnut Sandies Food

WALNUT-MAPLE SANDIES

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
• Whisk the ground walnuts, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk, maple syrup and maple extract until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; add the flour mixture and beat until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Form teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and arrange about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and brush the cookies with maple syrup; let cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets. Put the remaining 2 cups confectioners' sugar in a shallow bowl; add the cookies in batches and toss to coat, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

SANDIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the water and vanilla. Stir in the flour and pecans until well blended. Cover dough and chill for at least four hours.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Shape dough into walnut sized balls or crescents. Place 2 inches apart onto unprepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden. Roll in confectioners' sugar while still warm.

HAZELNUT SANDIES

Steps:

• Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes; let cool, then finely chop.
• Whisk the flour, allspice, salt and hazelnuts in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the flour mixture until the dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls and arrange 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until light golden on the bottom, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the remaining 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl.
• Immediately transfer the warm cookies to the bowl of confectioners' sugar and gently toss to coat; transfer to a rack to cool completely. Roll the cookies in confectioners' sugar again when completely cool.

THYME-WALNUT SANDIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 7-10 minutes. Let cool.
• Pulse walnuts and whole wheat flour in a food processor until finely ground. Add all-purpose flour and salt and pulse to combine.
• Using your fingers, work thyme into granulated sugar in a small bowl until mixture starts to look moist and clump together. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat thyme sugar, butter, and powdered sugar in a large bowl until light and smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Use a rubber spatula to mix in any remaining dry spots or flour at the bottom of the bowl.
• Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment paper and form into a 12" log. Firmly roll up log in parchment paper, then wrap tightly in plastic. Chill on a flat surface until firm, at least 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Slice off both ends of log to make neat edges, then remove plastic and parchment. Slice dough into 1/4"-thick rounds and place on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets, spacing about 1" apart. Bake, rotating baking sheets halfway through, until edges of cookies are light golden but centers are still pale, 10-15 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.
• Make the icing and assemble:
• Whisk powdered sugar, orange zest, orange juice, cream, coconut oil, thyme, and salt in a medium bowl until no lumps remain.
• Using a spoon or small offset spatula, spread about 1 tsp. icing over each cooled cookie (you will have some icing left over). Let cookies sit until icing is set, at least 45 minutes.
• Do Ahead
• Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 1 month. Cookies can be frosted 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

THYME-ROASTED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Toss walnuts, oil, thyme, and salt on a rimmed baking sheet until salt and thyme are evenly distributed. Bake until walnuts are golden brown and fragrant, 10-15 minutes.
• Do Ahead: Walnuts can be made 8 hours ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

PEANUT BUTTER SANDIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or with a light coating of cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the powdered sugar, brown sugar, oil, butter and peanut butter together for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat another 1 or less until combined.
• Beat or stir in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
• Using rounded tablespoons, shape dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Place balls on baking sheet and flatten using the bottom of a glass or use a fork tines to create a criss-cross pattern. If desired, sprinkle a bit of chopped peanuts on top. Since they do not spread much, you can fit 16 on a standard sized sheet.
• Bake in the top third of a pre-heated oven for 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and bake an additional 5-7 minutes, until the cookies have lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 or 3 minutes. Place on cooling rack until fully cooled.
• These can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
• You can also freeze the raw dough and defrost in the fridge later.

ALMOND SANDIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Fold in almonds. , Drop by level tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until edges are lightly browned, 22-24 minutes. Cool for 1-2 minutes before removing to wire racks.