This is the tenth cookie in my 12 Cookies of Christmas project. I am attempting to improve (and share) my baking technique and test out some family and traditional favourite recipes along the way. This recipe for Football Cookies is from my mother in law. I was never able to meet her or try her cookies, but my sister in law shared the recipe, and I think my husband will appreciate me learning to make these.

This my second attempt at the recipe. The first batch I made about a week ago, but I just think they didn’t taste or look good enough. My husband tried them and thought they should have been a little sweeter, and that they should have the walnuts more finely chopped. I have added just a touch more icing sugar, butter and water to the recipe, and I have crushed the “chopped walnuts” with a rolling pin! Now they are more finely chopped. Here are the revised ingredients below:

Football Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup softened butter

4 heaping tablespoons icing sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup water

100ml chopped walnuts (crush them with a rolling pin)

Football Cookie Preparation:

Beat butter until creamy, gradually add in icing sugar, then vanilla, flour and water while continuing to beat ingredients. Crush nuts with rolling pin and stir into ingredients. Refrigerate dough for one hour.

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.

Shape teaspoon sized pieces of dough into football shapes. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until just lightly browned on bottom.

Let cool for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes roll cookies in plate of icing sugar to coat.

Recipe Alterations:

These cookies are quite dry, but the application of as much icing sugar as possible makes them fluffy and sweet. They are better when smaller, and when the walnuts are chopped as finely as possible. When I was putting together the last batch of cookies I added some more water to help the dough stick together, and I found no difference in the taste and texture of the cookies when a splash more water was added.

These cookies could be made with Vegan Margarine instead of butter, so they are a great candidate for a vegan Christmas cookie!