Walnut Maple Sandies Food

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.

MAPLE CANDIED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Pre-heat your oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix the walnuts and maple syrup in a small bowl.
• Spread the maple coated nuts on the parchment paper and bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
• Once the 10 minutes are up, stir the nuts with a wooden spoon. Return to the oven and bake for another 3-5 minutes.
• Once the maple syrup starts to lightly 'foam' remove the entire sheet from the oven and cool on a wire rack until the nuts can be easily handled and broken apart.
• Store the maple candied walnuts in a glass mason jar or other air tight container for best results.

MAPLE-WALNUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the maple syrup, egg, vanilla and maple extract. (The mixture may look curdled.) Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Cover and refrigerate until the dough is no longer sticky, about 30 minutes (it will still be soft).
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Put the turbinado sugar in a shallow dish. Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into 1-inch balls, then roll in the turbinado sugar. Press a walnut half into the center of each cookie and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the edges of the cookies are set but the centers are still soft, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

MAPLE WALNUT-BLONDIES

Steps:

• Make the blondies: Preheat the oven to 350˚. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides; coat the foil with cooking spray. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop; set aside.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a whisk, until brown flecks appear, 10 to 12 minutes; remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the brown sugar and maple syrup. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and maple extracts.
• Whisk the brown butter-egg mixture into the flour mixture, then fold in the walnuts with a rubber spatula. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely in the pan. Lift the blondies out of the pan using the foil overhang; discard the foil.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup and beat until smooth. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar on low speed, increasing the speed to medium high after each addition until fluffy. Beat in the lemon juice and maple extract; add more maple extract, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, to taste. Spread the frosting over the cooled blondies. Cut into squares.

MAPLE GLAZED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat a dry skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the walnuts, maple syrup and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until syrup is caramelized and nuts are toasted, about 3 minutes. Let 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.

MAPLE-WALNUT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Fill a roasting pan halfway with water and set on a rack in the lower third of the oven; position another rack in the middle and preheat to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside (bottom and side) of a 9-inch springform pan with foil. Make the crust: Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor a few times until crushed. Add the walnuts and brown sugar and continue pulsing until finely ground. Add the melted butter, nutmeg and salt and pulse to combine. Press into the bottom and about 1 inch up the side of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed until nearly smooth, about 1 minute. Add the maple syrup and granulated sugar and beat until smooth, about 2 more minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Increase the speed to medium high and beat in the flour, heavy cream, lemon juice and maple extract until the filling is smooth and silky, about 1 more minute.
• Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Transfer the cheesecake to the oven, placing it on the middle rack directly over the water bath. Bake until golden and set around the edge but the center still jiggles slightly, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 5 hours or overnight. Let the cheesecake sit at room temperature 20 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge and remove the springform ring.

SLICE AND BAKE PEANUT BUTTER SANDIES

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• Combine the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar in another medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture and blend until just combined. Shape the dough into a log: Place it onto a piece of plastic wrap about 18 inches long. Use your hands to pat the dough into a log about 7 inches long and 2 inches around. Roll the plastic wrap around the dough. Twist both ends of the wrap, like a candy, and tighten both sides until the dough log is compact and tightly wrapped (this might cause the dough to shrink down to a 6-inch log instead of a 7-inch log, but that is okay). Tuck the twisted ends under the dough and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
• When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and arrange 2 racks in the middle of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and use a sharp knife to slice the dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets, about 12 cookies per baking sheet. Press a halved peanut into the center of each cookie. If the dough is still very cold, it might crack slightly around the peanut. Simply use your finger to lightly push the dough back together.
• Bake the cookies until the edges are very lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Halfway through cooking, rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom.
• Cool the cookies slightly on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

CHOCOLATE MAPLE WALNUT PRALINE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Toast the walnuts on a baking sheet in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
• Heat the maple syrup in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When the syrup begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium and allow the syrup to continue to boil and thicken for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a metal spoon. Remove the very hot syrup from the heat. Immediately add the walnuts to the syrup and stir to combine. Transfer the glazed walnuts to a baking sheet with sides. Use a metal spoon to spread the walnuts evenly over one half of the baking sheet. Set aside.
• Place the sugar and lemon juice in a 3-quart saucepan. Stir with a whisk to combine (the sugar will resemble moist sand). Caramelize the sugar by heating for 10 to 10 1/2 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk to break up any lumps (the sugar will first turn clear as it liquefies, then light brown as it caramelizes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the unsweetened chocolate and stir to dissolve. Immediately and carefully pour the caramelized mixture over the walnuts, covering all the nuts. Allow to harden at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
• Invert the praline onto a clean, dry cutting board (it should pop right out of the baking sheet), this will keep the shiny side looking shiny after cutting. Use a sharp serrated slicer to cut (use a sawing motion) the praline into desired size pieces. Store the pralines in a tightly sealed plastic container until ready to devour.

WALNUT SANDIES

Steps:

• 1. Cream together first four ingredients.
• 2. Mix together dry ingredients including 1 cup of the finely chopped walnuts, making sure to set aside 1/2 cup of them for the glaze.
• 3. Combine all ingredients and mix until well blended.
• 4. Place dough on sheet of waxed paper and roll into a long cylinder approximately 2" to 3" in diameter. Chill dough for 1 hour or until firm enough to slice with sharp knife.
• 5. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• 6. Unwrap dough, slice 1/2" thick pieces and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
• 7. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are slightly brown.