Eggnog Nut Thumbprints

          It's Christmas time! And, I am so excited to be moving on to holiday baking. I thought that I would start the season off right and get to one of my favorite cookbooks that I have ever read. The Better Homes and Gardens magazine was founded in 1922, and published their fifteenth edition of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook in 2010. It's pretty amazing that any publication can exist these days - let alone a multi series cookbook.

           Check out a later post for a recipe from 1982's "Better Homes and Gardens - All-Time Favorite Cake & Cookie Recipes"

          Baking situation #1: I was rushing out the door and asked to provide some cookies for a meeting. I had approximately one hour to prepare whatever I was baking, and only the most basic of ingredients in my cupboard. I have made thumbprint cookies before, so I figured that it would be an easy feat.

Eggnog Nut Thumbprints

Better Homes and Gardens "Anyone Can Bake - Step-by-Step Recipes Just For You"

¾ cup butter, softened

½ cup sugar

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 ½ cup finely chopped walnuts

1 recipe Rum Filling

Grated fresh nutmeg or ground nutmeg (optional)

          As noted, I started with butter. I use a container that I bought at Loblaws to keep butter in the cupboard. 

          With my electric mixer I beat the butter until smooth (suggested 30 seconds, approximately 60 seconds). I added the sugar and nutmeg and mixed until smooth again. Last week I tried to organize my baking cupboard - at Tap Phong (on Spadina in Toronto, ON) I bought some containers that helped with this. 

 

          Keep in mind, the butter and sugar mix must be scraped at the sides between mixing. If not, you will end with lumps of butter throughout. The recipe suggests that as much flour as possible should be mixed in. I was able to mix in all of the flour after switching to the paddle attachment. However, if you are unable to, it appears that you can mix the remainder of the flour in with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula. 

          Preheat your oven to 375ºF and grease an appropriately sized cooking sheet. Create a breading station with egg, crushed walnuts and batter rolled in approximately 1-inch balls. Word to the wise: use one hand to put the mix into the eggs and the other to coat the balls in walnuts. If you do this, you will avoid caking on your hands from the batter and eggs. 

 

 

          Once the batter is coated, place them on a baking sheet that is greased (or lined in parchment) approximately 1-inch apart. Then, press the batter with your thumb (hence, thumbprint cookies). This indent will be filled with the eggnog filling.

 

          Bake these for 12 to 15 minutes, depending in the heat of your oven. While doing so, make the Rum Filling.

Rum Filling

¼ cup butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon rum or ¼ teaspoon rum extract

1 to 2 teaspoons milk 

          I beat the butter until smooth and added 1 cup of powdered sugar. At this point, the mixture looked like this: (Obviously more powdered sugar needed to be added)

 

 

          So, I added approximately 1 more full cup of powdered sugar. This happens often, due to the temperature or dryness of the kitchen that you are working in. You can add more powdered sugar until it thickens, and more hot water by the half-teaspoon to thin the icing if needed. 

 

 

          The mixture then appeared to be thick enough. Once the cookies had cooled, I piped the icing into the indents and placed into the fridge to harden. The fridge was not required in the recipe but it still appeared to be thin, so I felt this to be appropriate. I then sprinkled some ground nutmeg on the icing.

 

          There you have it. Anyone can bake!   

          In summary, this recipe was easy to follow and really did taste like eggnog! The nutmeg (although I am not usually a fan) provided a nice, round flavor. Also, the cookies had the consistency of shortbread, and were balanced out by the thickness of the icing. The walnuts added a nice crunch as well. The only thing that I would change is the amount of powdered sugar - however, this can change based on the time of year and your geographical location.

          Better Homes and Gardens has written yet another easy to follow recipe. The cookies came out like classic cookies that were baked by a close family member, and were easy to transport. Happy baking!