Walnut Stars The stars have a delicate crunch and lovely earthy-nutty flavor from toasted walnuts. (Using toasted nuts is important, so don’t skip this step!) The chocolate drizzle is icing on the cake . I mean cookie.

Ingredients 

1 cup (about 4 ounces) walnuts

¼ cup granulated sugar

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled

unsalted butter, cut into

8 slices

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoons cold water

CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE

3 ounces bittersweet or

semisweet chocolate,

chopped

Method 

COOKIE CUTTERS NEEDED: star shapes that measure from about 1¾ to 2½ inches across the “arms”

PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. Spread the walnuts in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Toast in the oven for about 8 minutes or just until you start to smell them. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Turn off the oven.

PULSE the cooled, toasted walnuts and the granulated sugar in a food processor until the nuts are finely chopped (not quite finely ground). Transfer the mixture to a small

bowl.

ADD the flour, confectioners’ sugar, baking powder, and salt to the food processor. Pulse once to combine. Add the butter and pulse a few times until it’s chopped into tiny bits. Add the walnut mixture and pulse twice to combine. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of water and process just until the dough feels moist when pinched. Add ½ to 1 tablespoon more water, as needed, and pulse a few more times until the dough just starts to clump together. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gather into a ball. Press into a disk shape, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm enough to roll out, at least 1 hour.

PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

ROLL out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a ¼-inch thickness. Use star cutters to stamp out cookies, arranging them about 1½ inches apart on the prepared sheet. Reroll the scraps. Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes or until light golden. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE:

Melt the chocolate in a microwave- safe glass measuring cup or bowl in the microwave in 20- to 30-second bursts on medium power, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth. Let cool at room temperature for a few minutes.

PLACE the cookies close together, but not touching, on racks set over wax paper. Pour the chocolate into a small plastic bag or squeeze bottle. If using a bag, seal it and make a tiny cut in one corner. Working quickly, drizzle the chocolate in a zigzag pattern to make diagonal lines over the stars. Let the chocolate set completely before storing the cookies.

STORE, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container for up to 1 week.