Smoky Mountain Snowcaps

One of the best gifts I received for Christmas was Southern Living's Best Loved Cookies book. I'm a big sucker for any baking recipe books (bet you all are surprised, right?!) Given that we have another big snow storm heading this way tonight, I decided that making cookies called "snowcaps" couldn't be a bad choice. The nutmeg adds great flavor, though I may experiment next time and add a little more. I also altered the way the cookies are placed on the baking sheet since I didn't like how they looked when they were just spooned on. They came out looking and tasting great!

Smoky Mountain Snowcaps

6 oz. white chocolate, melted

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat butter and 1 cup sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix for 30 seconds.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add to butter mixture, beating until just blended. Stir in toasted walnuts.

Roll dough into tsp. size balls. Place on lightly sprayed baking sheets. Press tops down slightly. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned on bottoms. Remove from baking sheet to cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Makes approx. 3 1/2 dozen.

"Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery."
-Bill Watterson