Snowball Cookies with Walnuts and Eggnog Flavor

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and 3/4 cups premium flour
• 1 and 3/4 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
• 0.5 tsp coarse salt
• 220 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1.5 cups powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the walnuts on another baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Let cool, then pulse the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the rum and vanilla; let steep for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter, egg yolk, and 1/2 cup powdered sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the nut-rum mixture and beat for about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fully combined. Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and form into a disk; wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour to firm up.
3. Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough into balls about 2.5 cm in diameter. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2.5 cm apart. Bake until light golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.
4. In a bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar with 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Carefully roll the hot cookies in the powdered sugar mixture. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely; the cookies will firm up as they cool. Once cool, transfer them to the powdered sugar mixture.