Clove-Spiced Walnut Butter Cookies

A unique treat for your annual cookie exchange . . .

This recipe will make you feel a bit like Nara Smith, but I promise you that it’s not terribly fussy. It’s a combination of a couple family cookie recipes that I made into a more adult version of a peanut butter blossom.

In this case, I used homemade walnut butter (it’s much easier than it sounds) in place of peanut butter and a pinch of cloves to make them merry. Then I used bittersweet chocolate wafers in place of Hershey kisses. The result is a lightly spiced, rich, complex cookie that’s perfect for an adult holiday party (but kids like it, too!).

This recipe uses butter but can easily be made vegan by using Earth Balance or some other vegan butter that you have experience baking with. The added bonus is that you can also just choose to make walnut butter on its own and skip the rest of the recipe. Stir in some salt and a little sugar to the blended walnut butter and use it on Greek yogurt or anything else your heart desires.

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