Life got in the way

I've barely adjusted to the idea that it's December, and now it's the 5th already!  I really intended to have this post done for the 1st, but work was (unexpectedly) way too crazy this week.  Hard to post about a cookie that you haven't had time to bake yet. =)  (In fact, as I'm starting this post, the cookies in question are still in the oven.)  But I'm glad that I'm finally squeezing in some Christmas cookie baking.  It's just about the only sign around here of the impending holiday.  None of our decorations are out, much less the tree.  I did manage to pull out the Christmas books this evening, though.  Over the past several years, Brianna and Gillian have amassed quite a collection.  They get put away with the tree and other stuff, and don't come out again until after Thanksgiving.  Between Thanksgiving and New Year's, we read a book or two before bed at least a few nights a week.   

Another tradition that they look forward to is helping me with the cookie baking, especially when it involved sprinkles.  I'll be posting some of that soon, but for tonight I have a cookie that they won't eat anyway, since it has nuts.  This particular recipe continues a tradition for me instead, if you can call two years of something a tradition.  Last year, I was invited to participate in 12 Days of Cookies with some other great bloggers.  That ended up taking me 20 days instead of 12, and I know a lot of the other participants had trouble keeping up as well.  This year, we're going with one cookie per week for four weeks.  This year's recipes come from Saveur, and include cookies from around the world.  

My first cookie selection is Vanillekipferl.  They were on my list as soon as I read through the list, but get to be first in the line-up because they're quite easy to make.  I just did half the recipe, which gave me 2 dozen cookies.  The ingredient list is simple--butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, ground walnuts and flour.  I also added 1/4 teaspoon of salt (for the half recipe).  The mixing is easy as well--cream butter and sugar, mix in vanilla (and salt), stir in nuts and flour.  No chilling necessary, you just form bits of dough into crescents.  The cookies don't spread very much, so you can fit the two dozen on a single baking sheet (which I lined with parchment).  The recipe says to bake the cookies until golden, 12-15 minutes.  Mine were in the oven for almost 20 minutes, and barely started to color.  Once they're out of the oven, you shower them with more powdered sugar.

The verdict?  I liked these.  I usually make cookies like these with pecans, so the walnuts were a nice change of pace.  Jamie said he liked them as well, and he doesn't usually go for this sort of cookie.  They are definitely quick to make, even with the shaping.  I might adjust the baking temp a bit (up to 350ºF) next time so they get a bit more color without overbaking them.  

There will be more cookies to come, though I'm still deciding which ones.  If you'd like to try this recipe, you can find it here.  And be sure to check out what the other cookie bakers have made this past week:

Courtney of Coco Cooks 
Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dogs
Renee of Flamingo Musings
Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project