Walnut Cookies

Method

To make the dough:

• 1)

  To make the cookie dough, add your softened butter, combine with sugar and mix with whisk attachment until sugar has melted with the butter and the texture is puffy.

• 2)

  Once the butter sugar mixture is done. add in your egg yolks and continue mixing, now on low speed until no resemblance of the yolk can be seen.

• 3)

  Now place a dough hook attachment and add in your sifted flour, cocoa powder, salt, ground walnuts a little at a time mixing on low speed.

• 4)

  Once the dough starts getting it’s form, kneed it shortly by hand just enough that it doesn’t stick to the bowl. (It is a sticky dough don’t worry, once chilled in the fridge it will be more than easy to work with.)

• 5)

  Shape the dough into what ever shape you like, wrap with plastic foil and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

• 6)

  Once chilled transfer to your work surface and begin filling the molds.

• 7)

  To make sure they don’t stick gently spread a little butter over the interior and sprinkle flour, then toss off any extra flour.

• 8)

  Now take a small piece of dough, swirl it between your palms, place inside the mold and gently press down. As the ball expands it will fill the interior of the mold, creating a hole in the middle that is needed for filling the cream. Cut off any excess dough with your knife.
• 9)

  I can’t tell you the precise weight of each piece, it varies in different molds, just try it out a few times until you get a hang of it.

• 10)

  Place the molds filled with dough onto your baking tray (no I did not need to align it with parchment paper.) and place inside a preheated oven on 180*C for 10-15 minutes.

   

• 11)

  Or until they look like this!

• 12)

  To remove the cookies from the mold, just tap them down while they’re still hot.
• 13)

  Now let them cool completely while you prepare the pastry cream.

To make the pastry cream.

• 1)

  Take a heavy bottom sauce pan, place it on medium heat and pour milk, along with half the sugar, rum and vanilla.

• 2)

  In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and other half of the sugar until creamy, light colored and all the sugar has melted (best way to check is to pinch a little bit of the mixture between your fingers, if you don’t feel any sugar crystals it’s done.)

• 3)

  Now add in your sifted flour and cornstarch and whisk to combine.

• 4)

  Once your milk has reached 80 degrees celsius, or  just starting to bubble up, you will need to temper the egg yolk mixture.

• 5)

  That means you need to pour some (about a third) hot milk very gently into the yolks while constantly whisking to raise their temperature steadily. If you were to add your yolks into the hot milk you would get a scrambled egg.

• 6)

  Once carefully tempered and incorporated. transfer the mixture back in the sauce pan and stir constantly on medium-low heat.

• 7)

  Once the cream comes up to a simmer, cook stirring for about two more minutes or until thickened like a pudding.

• 8)

  Pass the cream through a fine sieve to prevent lumps and place inside a container covering the surface of the cream with plastic foil so it doesn’t develop a crust.

• 9)

  Chill completely before use.

• 10)

  Now to finish the cookies, simply put the cream inside a piping bag ( you can totally just use a spoon), fill the gaps of one piece and seal with another.