Sliced Cookies: Chocolate Nut Rounds

The cinnamon in this recipe brings out the flavor in the chocolate, making for a delicious cookie that anyone will like. You can chop the nuts more finely than I did, though I like the look of the larger chunks. You can also omit the nuts entirely, or use a different nut.


When melting the chocolate and butter, you can use a pot on the stove or a chocolate melter. I prefer my little chocolate melter, but you can use whatever you prefer to melt the chocolate. A fondue pot would work as well. Allow the chocolate the cool for at least 5 minutes before you add it to the dough to avoid cooking the eggs.


Ingredients


½ cup butter
½ cup chocolate chips
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup walnuts, chopped


Preparation


Melt the butter and chocolate together over medium heat until chocolate is smooth. Do not cook longer than necessary. Remove from heat and allow to cool 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Place sugar, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl. Blend well. Add chocolate and blend until smooth and fluffy. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Blend until a damp dough forms. Fold in walnuts.


Turn out the dough onto a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a log that is 12 inches long. Wrap in the wax paper and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.


Heat oven to 400°F. Remove dough from freezer and unwrap. Use a sharp knife to cut dough into
½-inch rounds. This will give you 24 cookies. Arrange these on a prepared baking sheet, keeping the cooking at least 1 inch away from each other.


Bake for 8 minutes, until cookies are set and browned a bit around the edges. Cool on pan for 1 minute, then cool completely on wire racks.


These cookies will keep for up to 6 days if kept in an airtight container.