wedding cookies, part B

i'm making cookies for my sister's wedding. i've already started testing recipes. the whole shindig has a fall theme going for it, so i started out with pumpkin cookies.

they were a hit. even with the chunky pieces of oatmeal in them, i was told that the texture was good. i had baked them, iced some of them, and then stored them in the fridge overnight, and i have to say that i liked the texture and flavor much better the next day. somehow, they tasted even more pumpkin-y, and it almost made the maple cream cheese frosting unnecessary. almost.

the same time i made the pumpkin cookies, i broke out a recipe that i've had for years, but never actually tried. they're called walnut acorn cookies, because the finished product looks like acorns and is filled with walnuts. in fact, the recipe is very close to the brown sugar shortbread cookies we always make at christmas time. it's mostly flour, brown sugar, and melted butter all mixed together. finely chopped walnuts are added to the dough, and then it's rolled into small egg shapes and baked. after they're cool, the tops are dipped in chocolate and then rolled in more finely chopped walnuts, and i also added a slivered almond, attached with melted chocolate, for a stem at the top.

they turned out adorable, everybody knew they were supposed to be acorns. and the taste was very good. they spread a lot more than i thought they would, but i can prevent that next time by chilling the trays before baking. that should help them to keep they're cute little shape and not spread into big cookies. i also need to figure out a better way to attach the almond stem, because i thought it was very cute with it, but it didn't stay on some of the cookies. also, i stored them in the fridge with the pumpkin cookies, because i didn't want the chocolate to melt, but i liked the flavor of them much better when they were at room temperature. i'm realizing, though, that cold cookies won't be a problem, because they'll be set out on trays and readied for the guests to show up, so there will be plenty of time to come to room temperature.

the other fun thing about making these cookies is that i had a bunch of melted chocolate left over after dipping all the cookies. which of course meant that i got to dip all sorts of other things. like pretzel sticks. and ice cream cones, which were then rolled in sprinkles. making cookies is hard work, but somebody has to do it.