Rich and buttery like shortbread, these chocolate-filled walnut sandwich cookies are both delicious and very easy to make. A reader favorite from the Yankee recipe archives.
By Yankee Magazine
Apr 18 2019
Chocolate-Filled Walnut Sandwich Cookies
Photo Credit : Aimee TuckerWe occasionally hear from Yankee readers trying to track down a lost (but loved) recipe from the magazine’s archives. Given that our recipe collection stretches back to 1935, it’s not always easy to track down the exact recipe, but when we do, we’re delighted to give it a polish and add it to our online database.
From the reader:
Years ago, there was a recipe with something like a walnut ball sandwiched with a chocolate filling. I kept that magazine for years (other great cookie recipes in it too), but seemed to have lost it in a move. I would love to have that recipe again!
From Yankee:
In the December 1989 issue we found a recipe titled “Walnut Christmas Balls” that was included in the food story “Sweet Christmas Sweets.” All the story’s recipes were winners in our (then) annual recipe contest, and the cookies in question were submitted by Cathy Power of Medfield, Massachusetts. We originally praised her recipe as a “simple but delicious cookie in which creamy chocolate filling joins two buttery cookie rounds.”
Recipe notes:
Rich and indeed very buttery, these walnut shortbread cookies are perfect for sharing or a holiday cookie swap because they’re so easy to make and taste terrific. For larger, fewer cookies, use a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon to measure out the dough and the filling, and increase the baking time by a few minutes.
2 cups whole walnuts
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
Process walnuts with 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar until finely ground; this should yield about 1 cup of ground walnuts and sugar. Set aside.
Cream butter and remaining sugar. Beat in vanilla; add flour and 3/4 cup ground walnuts. Mix well. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, just until golden. Cool on racks. Sandwich flat sides together using 1 teaspoon of chocolate filling. Roll edges in remaining 1/4 cup ground walnuts.
3 ounces (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cream
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Carefully melt chocolate with vanilla, butter, and cream over very low heat. Remove from heat and beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth.