Mixed Nut Sugar Cookies

Made with almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts, Mixed Nut Sugar Cookies are a soft, melt-in-your-mouth type of cookie with a crunchy nut baked right on top. Try eating just one!

As you know, Dear Reader, we have been spending all of our time at our house. Once the lock down started, we left our apartment behind in Toronto, and we’ve been at our house since March. We didn’t know that we would be here for so long, so we’ve had to go back to the city a few times to get a few things we needed.

I have not gone back, but John.e has. He will pack up the car and head back home with things we thought we could do without, but couldn’t. Some obvious things, such as summer clothing. It was still cold in March when we first arrived at the house.

And, of course, I needed things to continue blogging. Because we have only ever used the house as a weekend getaway, I very rarely blog here. He brought back my mixer, food processor, utensils, cooling racks, bowls and plates, and about 80% of my props. Of course, he had to make more than one trip.

Because we were staying so long, he emptied out the pantry and brought all of those things with him too. I have a stash of baking supplies that both him and McKenna know is off limits. He brought that too, so I found myself with a lot of nuts, among other things. What do you do with extra nuts? Make cookies, of course!

BASIC SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE

I have a basic sugar cookie recipe that I love to use over and over again. It never disappoints and is always perfect. It is so soft when baked. I love how it just melts in your mouth. And, it’s very adaptable in terms of flavour. I change out the extracts in it all of the time.

For this particular recipe, I used almond extract. Unless you are familiar with using extracts other than the common vanilla, you might be surprised to learn that almond extract tastes nothing like almonds! In fact, many people say that almond extract tastes like cherries. I tend to think that it has a sweet, syrupy taste. It just works really well in baking – especially when baking with nuts or seeds!

That’s the thing about a sugar cookie recipe. You can adapt it any way you want. I love to top sugar cookies with something.

TURBINADO SUGAR – DO YOU NEED IT?

Turbinado sugar is sugar that has been partially refined, meaning that it retains some of the original molasses, which is what gives it that slight caramel flavour and colour.

Sometimes referred to as raw sugar, Turbinado is made from sugarcane. The crystals are also much larger than regular white granulated sugar. Do you need it? No. You can roll the cookie dough into turbinado or sanding sugar, often called pearl or decorating sugar. They’re basically the same thing.

You cannot, however, use granulated sugar. Whereas an individual granule of turbinado or sanding sugar is large and hard, a single granule of granulated sugar is quite small. Sanding sugar will hold up to the heat in your oven without melting; granulated sugar will not.

You can skip the rolling in sugar part completely, but if you choose to do that, you will not end up with a glistening, shiny cookie like the one you see in the photographs.

CAN I FREEZE THESE COOKIES?

Yes – absolutely! When the cookies have cooled, pack them into a cookie tin or a food-safe container with a tight fitting lid. Freeze for up to three months. To thaw, remove from freezer and remove the lid. Allow the cookies to thaw to room temperature.

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