Dec 15, 2007
Excellent cookie! It's a lot of trouble, but I developed a system that seemed to work for me. I put the parcels of dough in the freezer for a while, then was able to better shape them into round rather than square logs. I kept them in the freezer for a while longer and rolled them in the colored sugar. That also helped to round them. I returned them to the freezer for a while longer, then just brought out enough to cut for one cookie sheet. They were easy to slice, pretty much retained their shape, and didn't stick to the knife blade. While one sheet was in the oven I prepared the next one, and by the time it was ready to go into the oven, the dough was soft enough that I could easily tweak the shape if necessary.
I used chopped pecans on top, and they added a wonderful toasted nut flavor. I used purchased colored sugar because I wanted the large crystals. One thing I noticed that no other reviewer seems to have mentioned is that the sugar caramelized a little and added an extra dimension of flavor and crunch. Definitely a good addition to any Christmas cookie tray.
—Mallinda