Walnut and Raw Cacao Cookies

I recently realized that, while I use walnuts in various recipes, I don’t use them as often when baking cookies. With this in mind, I was set to create cookies with walnuts as the main ingredient.
As I’m fond of walnuts and chocolate combination (check HERE for my Brownies recipe), I decided to flavor the cookies with some raw cacao powder I’ve had at hand. To enhance both flavors, I chose to sweeten the dough with dark brown sugar, and finished with vanilla paste. The dough was assembled quickly and the cookies came out very tasty, with a moist center.
The cookies are mildly sweet, and are great as a quick snack, with coffee or tea. Dusted with powdered sugar before serving, for extra flavor and color contrast, they will make a beautiful and tasty addition to a festive cookies display. Try them and enjoy.

Notes:
* Raw cacao powder is less processed than regular cocoa powder, thus has milder flavor and lighter color, which works well here, as the idea was to keep the walnut flavor dominant. However, if you can’t find it, or if you prefer a more pronounced chocolaty flavor, regular or dark cocoa powder can be used instead.
* The cookies can be frozen, in an air-tight freezer bag, for up to a month. Dust with powdered sugar only after fully defrosting.

Makes: about 50
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 stick (115 grams) butter, melted and cooled
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 L egg
1 cup flour, packed
1 cup small chopped walnuts
Dash salt
¼ cup raw cacao (see notes)
1 tsp vanilla paste
For serving:
Powdered sugar

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted cooled butter, brown sugar and egg. Add the flour, walnuts and salt and mix with a spatula. Add the cacao powder and vanilla and mix again. Cover the bowl and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line two cookie sheets with baking paper.
3. Roll the dough into about 50 small balls and place on the cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, until the bottom is golden. Do not over-bake; the cookies are meant to have a moist center.

4. Cool over racks to room temperature before dusting with powdered sugar.