Cardamom-Walnut Crescents

adapted from the NYT 12/15/10
(a reader sent it in and she got it from a Williams-Sonoma cookie book!)

Cardamom-Walnut Crescents
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For the Dough:
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 c. shelled walnuts
1/4 pound unsalted butter chilled, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cardmom
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Vanilla Sugar:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 vanilla bean


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine all dough ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until dough resembles coarse meal. Then process until it begins to hold together.

2. Roll 2 teaspoons of dough at a a time into a half moon shape. Arrange 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until firm (18-20 minutes)

3. Make vanilla sugar by putting sugar and vanilla bean into clean food processor bowl and process until vanilla bean is completely pulverized.

4.Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack. Sift vanilla sugar over cookies (this will also sieve out any pieces of vanilla bean). Allow cookies to cool completely.