Maple Twist Cookies
These Maple Twist Cookies are soft, buttery cookies filled with a generous walnut-maple filling and finished with a simple vanilla glaze. They make a pretty holiday cookie with sweet crunch, tender raisin dough, and a classic twisted shape.
INGREDIENTS:
5 cups walnuts chopped in a blender fairly fine, but not into walnut butter
1 stick butter room temperature, for the filling
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring vanilla can stand in if maple flavoring is unavailable
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter room temperature, for the dough
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs beaten
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F, then mix the chopped walnuts, 1 stick room-temperature butter, brown sugar, and maple flavoring together for the filling and set it aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring briefly so the dry ingredients are evenly distributed.
In a mixer, beat the 2/3 cup room-temperature butter with the granulated sugar, then add the beaten eggs and raisins.
Add the flour mixture and milk alternately, mixing as you go, until both are incorporated and a soft dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, shape it into a ball, and cut the ball into four equal pieces.
Take one piece of dough, roll it into a 12-inch log on the floured surface, then gently roll the log into a rectangle about 5 inches by 12 inches, adding a little flour underneath if needed.
Place one-fourth of the walnut-maple filling along the bottom edge of the dough rectangle, keeping it close to that lower edge.
Fold the top edge of the dough down over the filling, pinch the seams closed, and flatten the rectangle slightly with your hands.
Cut the filled rectangle vertically into 1-inch pieces; you should get about 12 pieces from that section.
Pick up each piece and twist it twice away from your body, then place the twisted cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and press the ends down so they stay put during baking.
Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, noting that the cookies do not brown much, then transfer them to a cooling rack and repeat the rolling, filling, twisting, and baking with the remaining three pieces of dough.
Once the cookies are cool, stir together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and vanilla extract, then brush the glaze over the cookies and let the icing settle before serving.