Last week my friend Danielle and I made some cookies for our mutual friend Jen’s wedding. The wedding had pies, not cake, so we made some cookies to match. This is a recipe Danielle and her mother make every year at Christmas, and apparently tastes just like mini pecan pies, despite using walnuts. I didn’t taste them (as I haven’t started liking nuts since last week) but apparently they’re a hit every Christmas, and all Danielle’s family’s other Christmas cookies that I’ve tried have been great, so I’m willing to trust them!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon melted vanilla
• 1 egg

Stir together the crust ingredients by hand until mixed, kneading a bit if necessary. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate the dough into 24 equal portions, roll each into a ball, and place into the wells of a mini cupcake pan.

Press the dough into the pan until it evenly covers each cup, coming up to the top of each.

Stir together the filling ingredients with a fork, then spoon 1 teaspoon of the mixture into each of the dough-lined cups, sharing any extra filling mixture evenly between them all.

Bake 20 minutes, until browned and risen. Let cool in the pan.

These came out cute, and apparently are like a delicious bite sized pecan pie! Just the start of a sweet married life for my friend! (Ew, that was maybe the worst thing I’ve ever typed!) Congrats, Jen!

Nut Pie Cookies

From my friend Danielle’s kitchen.

Crust:

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon melted vanilla
• 1 egg

Stir together the crust ingredients by hand until mixed, kneading a bit if necessary. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate the dough into 24 equal portions, roll each into a ball, and place into the wells of a mini cupcake pan. Press the dough into the pan until it evenly covers each cup, coming up to the top of each.

Stir together the filling ingredients with a fork, then spoon 1 teaspoon of the mixture into each of the dough-lined cups, spreading any extra filling mixture evenly. Bake 20 minutes, until browned and risen. Let cool in the pan.