2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling
1 large egg
½ TSP vanilla extract
2 ½ cups 2 TBL sifted all-purpose flour
¾ cups chopped salted almonds
13 oz jar of Nutella

1. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and ¼ cup of granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add egg and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour and mix on low speed until combined. Add chopped almonds until combined.

2. Turn dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half and roll each piece into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in parchment paper (or plastic wrap), making sure to cover ends completely. Place in freezer for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350˚F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough logs in remaining ½ cup of sugar, coating them evenly, and slice into ¼” thick rounds, slicing the dough while still frozen.. Place about 1” apart on prepared sheets. Baking, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Once the cookies have cooled, spread about 1 teaspoon of Nutella on the bottom side of one cookie and top each with another cookie, creating a sandwich. Makes about 30 sandwich cookies (60 single cookies).

5. ENJOY – Sandwich cookies, more cookies to love!

This recipe is from the ceramiccanvas.com website. The website is written by Reginald. I read about Reginald in a local newspaper article and I was intrigued so I decided to check out his cooking website. I loved it and emailed him to tell him so. I also had many questions about the site, as I was especially interested in the camera he used to take such beautiful pictures. Reginald was very generous with sharing information with me. The camera he uses is unfortunately out of my budget range at the moment. Another time, I questioned his pasta attachment for his kitchen aid. Again, too expensive a purchase at this time, but I may add it to my Christmas wish list. With each question I posed Reginald, he responded quickly with an abundance of information. I do ask a lot of questions of people all the time, and Reginald never got annoyed. Anyway this recipe from Reggie’s website truly inspired me to try this cookie. (I call him Reggie now, because it is friendlier.)

I was going to my sister-in-law’s house for a family gathering that day. But I had no time. My job was to bring a dessert. But I was mult-tasking like crazy, which I usually do on one day off from work. I did have Nutella in the house. Instead of pistachios I used roasted almonds, vanilla extract instead of almond extract and salted butter instead of unsalted butter. I basically changed the recipe around to suit my time and ingredients. I put the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes to speed up what should have been the refrigerator time. I cut the dough frozen instead of waiting till it became room temperature. I baked it a few minutes longer. I had to be somewhere and time was running out.

I have to tell you, Reggie intimidates me with his knowledge, website and equipment.
We have communicated through the computer several times and I have to say he has been very helpful. Anyway, this was the first time I tried one of his recipes. I took all these photos of the cookies and I go back to his website again, and his pictures of the cookies are much better than mine.
The people reading my website are more in tune to somebody’s mom’s cooking. My camera is older, but still works. My pasta attachment is not the one expensive one, but can still make spaghetti. In fact I have a very small kitchen. It isn’t the gadgets or the big kitchen that makes a great cook; it’s the love of cooking. Moms like me understand this about everything in life not just cooking. My mom was a great cook, and she didn’t have top of the line kitchen equipment in her galley kitchen, in fact she never owned a dish washer, except for me.
I enjoy winging it sometimes and cooking under pressure. Substituting ingredients can bring out some great results. Take a recipe and make it your own with what you have to work with. You may be surprised by the results.

(Below is Reggie’s Recipe from his website that I adapted)

REGGIE’S RECIPE from his website CERAMICCANVAS.COM
NUTELLA-PISTACHIO ICEBOX BUTTER COOKIES

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling
1 large egg
½ TSP almond extract
2 ½ cups 2 TBL sifted all-purpose flour
¾ cups chopped unsalted pistachios
1 TSP kosher salt
130z jar of Nutella
In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and ¼ cup of granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add egg and vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add chopped pistachios until combined.
Turn dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half and roll each piece into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in parchment paper (or plastic wrap), making sure to cover ends completely. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350˚F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Let dough stand at room temperature until soft enough to slice, about 15 minutes. Roll dough logs in remaining ½ cup of sugar, coating them evenly, and slice into ¼” thick rounds. Place about 1” apart on prepared sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cookies have cooled, spread about 1 teaspoon of Nutella on the bottom side of one cookie and top each with another cookie, creating a sandwich.
Makes about 30 sandwich cookies (60 single cookies)