My mom and I have a tradition of baking cookies together to share with family and friends at Christmas. While we tend to stick to the same handful of recipes that have been in our family for a long time, we always make room to try out something new. And if we feel up for the challenge, we may even take a special request or two. It is a special time that we share together and one that I look forward to every year.
One of my favorite cookie recipes that I look forward to making, and eating of course, is Chocolate Filled Horns. Let me preface by saying that these are a bit time consuming to make but I guarantee you that they are worth every effort. The dough is made with just three ingredients: flour, butter, and sour cream. Sour cream, you say? Yes, and what a light and flaky dough it yields. Once you bite into one, you are hit with a delicious filling of nuts, chocolate, and cinnamon. They are really quite addictive so it’s probably a good thing that we only make them once a year!
During this busy holiday season, I do hope you are carving out some time to carry on or make new traditions with your own family. It’s what makes this time of year so special. In light of the recent events at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we could all use a few moments to be with the ones we love and be thankful for what we have.
To all my followers, friends, and family, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and promising 2013. I am grateful for your support of and enthusiasm for my humble blog!
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1½ cups chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1- ½ egg white (yolk reserved and lightly beaten to brush the cookies with before baking)
- To make the dough, combine ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hand until thoroughly combined. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator over night.
- To make the filling, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Set aside while you roll out the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour a large cutting board and rolling pin. Divide the cookie dough into four equal parts. Roll each portion into a circle 10″ inch in diamater about ⅛” thick. You can use a 10″ plate as a guide by inverting it and placing it on top of the rolled out dough. Trim any excess dough sticking out from the edge of the plate with a knife or pizza cutter. Remove plate.
- Cut the round into 8 equal portions (like cutting a pizza). Spoon a scant teaspoon of the filling at the very outer edge of each of the sections. Be careful not to use too much filling or else it could cause the dough to split when baking. Starting at the outer edge, roll each section until the dough is almost completely wrapped around the filling. Dab the tip of the dough with a bit of water to adhere and finish rolling. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush each cookie with egg yolk.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the cookies are golden brown. Don’t worry if some of the filling ends up coming out of the sides or splits the dough. Once they are removed from the oven, place on a rack and let cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over each cookie to finish. The sugar will help to hide any imperfections.
These horn cookies are absolutely lovely! I must give them a try! I have never made them…a new one for my list!!! Merry Christmas, Lisa!
Thanks, Carol and Merry Christmas to you, too!