Walnut Shortbread Christmas Cookies

When I was growing up, this cookie was a mainstay in my family.  In fact, I thought they invented it. 

Turns out, this is one of the oldest and most popular cookie recipes, turning up in nearly every culture.  Just under a different name.  Russian Tea Cakes.  Mexican Wedding Cakes.  All that varies is the flavorings and the type of nut.  

I do think my family thought to decorate them for Christmas with the red and the green sugar. 

Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons ice water (depending on the season)
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup walnuts
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure rum extract (or dark rum)
½ cup confectioners sugar
Red & Green sugar crystals

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the nuts in the bowl of your food processor, and chop until you have a very fine crumb, but just short of nut butter.
• In a stand mixer with the paddle, cream the butter.  Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy
• Add rum and vanilla and beat. 
• Add the nuts to the butter and sugar mixture and combine thoroughly.
• Sift the flour and salt together into a separate bowl.
• Add the flour to butter mixture, and gently incorporate. 
• If the dough it very stiff, add ice water, and the paddle another couple of turns.
• With your hands, or a very small ice-cream scoop, roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet, about one inch apart.
• Bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes.
• As soon as they come out of the oven, slide them onto a rack and sift confectioner’s sugar over the cookies until you have a fairly heavy coating (yes, it makes a mess, but its faster than rolling each cookie by hand into a bowl of confectioner's suger)
• Sprinkle with red or green sugar crystals.