Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup confectioners' sugar, plus 1 cup sifted for rolling
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup ground walnuts, preferably toasted

Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 350F. Have ready ungreased cookie sheets.

2 In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the butter, the ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, the cinnamon, and salt on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. On a low speed, gradually beat in the flour and then the nuts just until mixed. The dough will be stiff and somewhat crumbly.

3 Pinch off pieces of the dough and roll between your palms into 1-inch balls. Place on the cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart.

4 Bake in the center of the oven until the tops are set to th touch and the bottoms are lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets until they are still warm but are firm enough to handle without crumbling.

5 Spread the 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar on a plate. Roll the warm cookies in the sugar, coating them evenly. Set on wire racks to cool completely. When the cookies have cooled, roll them again lightly in the sugar.

Makes 50 cookies

Cookie exchange tip This is a safe choice for any cookie exchange.  Everyone likes these melt-in-the-mouth tea cakes, and they are easy to make. Arrange them on a doily-lined silver plate.

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Excerpted from Very Merry Cookie Party. Published by Chronicle Books.  Copyright © 2010 by Barbara Grunes.  All rights reserved.  Reprinted by permission of Chronicle Books.