On the first day of cookies I slaved and baked for thee, some Festivals nice and buttery.

The first recipe in The Twelve Days of Cookies is a family recipe that I’ve never had before. It was a long forgotten recipe and I decided to revive it. 

Festivals are cute nutty shortbread cookies covered in powdered sugar and they used to be a family favorite on my mother’s side. However, with the passing of my maternal grandmother it unfortunately got put aside and hasn't been included on any cookie tray since. I grew up ignorant of its existence until I was thumbing through the family recipe box. It pains me to know that the Festivals never got to grace my lips during my childhood. If I had gotten the opportunity, they would have certainly been one of my favorites. I feel like I need to make up for lost time by making Festivals one of my family’s favorite Christmas cookies.

Festivals
*Makes 3 dozen

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.

½ cup powdered sugar

½ tsp kosher salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups chopped pecans and walnuts, mixed.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. 

In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the salt and vanilla.

Mix in flour and mixed nuts until completely incorporated. With a tablespoon measure out dough and roll into balls.

Place on lined baking sheets and bake until light brown, 10-12 minutes.

Leave to cool slightly on pans for about 5 minutes. While still warm, roll the cookies in powdered sugar and cool completely on wire racks.

Once cooled, store the cookies in airtight containers.

*Notes: To get more precise sized cookies, you can weigh out the portions of dough instead of using a tablespoon. For this recipe, 20 grams a dough ball makes a good sized cookie.

This cookie does not spread out like other shortbread cookies. The shape is kept and they will still remain in a ball shape when baked.