Nut Crescents

These crescent cookies are the rich, butter-and-nut shortbreads that show up on holiday cookie trays from Vienna to grandma’s kitchen. The dough itself is a simple butter-sugar-egg-yolk-flour shortbread with a cup of finely crushed nuts mixed in. What sets them apart from a plain shortbread is the double-nut treatment: nuts in the dough, then dipped in egg white and a nut-sugar coating before baking.

That coating is the texture move. The egg white acts like glue, holding a generous crust of finely crushed nuts and granulated sugar against the curve of each crescent. As the cookies bake, the egg white sets, the nuts toast, and the sugar caramelizes slightly. The result is a cookie with a crisp, crunchy nut shell over a tender shortbread interior.

Shaping is a hand-roll job. Roll a generous teaspoon of dough between your palms into a small log, then bend gently into a crescent. The dough is rich enough to soften quickly, so chill it if it gets sticky.

Almonds, pecans, or walnuts all work; pick by what is on hand or by personal preference.

Pro Tips

• Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes if it feels too soft to shape; cold dough handles cleaner.
• Crush the almonds (or pecans, walnuts) finely but not to powder; large chunks will not adhere to the egg-white coating.
• Use ungreased baking sheets; greased pans can cause the cookies to spread.
• Dust with powdered sugar only after the cookies are fully cool; warm cookies absorb the sugar instead of holding it.

Variations

• Use hazelnuts in place of almonds for a more European flavor.
• Add half a teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the dough for more depth.
• Roll the crescents in cinnamon-sugar instead of plain sugar for a snickerdoodle-meets-crescent variation.