Cherry Walnut Thumbprints
(Makes about 3 dozen cookies)

While this may seem a little involved to make, it is really pretty easy. The balls of dough are rolled in ground nuts and a dollop of cherry preserves is placed in an indentation in the center. Preserve-filled cookies are festive and pretty, and make sweet little treats for a dessert tray. Use a high quality preserve to make this, or your guests will be disappointed. I like to use the cherry preserves made by the award-winning Clearbrook Farms Company. They are available in many gourmet shops. They are rich with pure fruit flavor, and absolutely delicious.

For the dough:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg yolk, from an egg graded large
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

For the nut coating and garnish:
1 egg white, from an egg graded large
1 teaspoon water
1 cup finely ground walnuts
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tart cherry preserves 

Preheat a conventional oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, or a convection oven to 310 degrees Fahrenheit, and arrange the oven racks so they divide the oven into thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Combine the butter, brown sugar, egg yolk and vanilla on medium high speed for about 2 minutes, until light, fluffy and smooth. Scrape the bowl and add the flour, mixing on low speed until the evenly blended, about 15 to 20 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, giving it a few stirs to be sure the dough is completely mixed.

Using a #100 dough scoop (2 teaspoons) scoop all of the dough. Lightly beat the egg white with the water in a shallow bowl. Mix the ground walnuts with the sugar in a wide, shallow bowl. Drop a scoop of dough into the egg white mixture and roll it around to be sure it is completely covered with egg white. Then place it into the bowl of ground walnuts and roll it to coat completely.  Place the nut-covered dough onto the prepared sheet.  When you have covered all of the dough with nuts, use the handle of a wooden spoon, or a thimble, to make an indentation in the center of each cookie.  Fill the indentation with cherry preserves.  Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. The cookies will just be a little firm when they are done. Remove the baking pans from the oven and set them on wire racks to cool. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container with wax paper or parchment between the layers.

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