Do not let this picture fool you though. These cookies do not have jam in them-they actually have a fudge-like filling with walnuts. The best part about them is that the elements are equal. This means that one bite gives you 50% cookie flavor and 50% nutty chocolate flavor. In my book this does make the grade, so these will be added to my traditional cookies list. This recipe makes about 4 dozen.
Also, I wanted to mention that Sofie from The German Foodie contacted me in regards to doing a feature on me and I agreed. She is doing a series on why she follows certain blogs and picked mine to feature first, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside since there are so many wonderful blogs to choose from. So if you are curious about the feature or if you would like to meet a special blogger who has some great tutorials on her site as well as some tasty German cuisine, be sure and pop on over to Sofie's site at The German Foodie,
Auntie Mary's Cookies
adapted from Ladies Home Journal
Ingredients/Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour
powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Ingredients/Filling
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
To make the dough, sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese and both type of sugars. Then beat in the egg and vanilla extract until blended evenly. Fold in the dry ingredients, making sure no dry streaks remain.
Separate dough into four equal parts and wrap with plastic wrap. Place in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. I left mine in the fridge to chill overnight.
After the chilling time is complete, preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two cookie sheets.
Then you are ready to make your filling! Place chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan placed over medium heat. Stir and cook until all chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts. Let cool to room temperature.
Lightly dust a flat surface with flour and place 1 piece of dough in the center. Roll dough out to a 6 X 10 inch rectangle, lifting and turning to make sure dough does not stick. Once you reach that size, take 1/4 of the chocolate mixture and smooth it down the center of the length of the dough. Then fold sides over. Then transfer to cookie sheet, seam side down. I used a spatula and a bench scraper side by side underneath to transfer the log and then flipped it over. Repeat this process with the remaining 3 logs. You should have two on each cookie sheet.
Place in oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until the dough is lightly browned. Remove pans and transfer logs to a cooling rack. Once completely cool, sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Then slice each log into 12 equal portions.
**LAST YEAR: Roasted Cauliflower and Onions**
