Walnut Cookies


Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups self-rising cake flour
35 (approximately 1/2 cup) walnut halves
2 baking sheets, lined with parchment or wax paper or greased


Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Cream the butter and sugar. When you've got a soft, supple mass, add the vanilla extract and work in the sifted flour. Roll into walnut-sized balls, and press with the base of a glass that you've lightly oiled (and if you've got some in the house, you could use walnut oil ) or brushed with melted butter. Press gently onto the lined baking sheets -- leaving a 2-inch space round each as they'll spread -- and stud each with a walnut half.

Cook for 15 minutes. They start off golden so it's hard to tell if they're cooked just by sight, but lift one up to check it's no longer doughy on the bottom. Remove from the oven, leave for a minute or two on the trays, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.