My Favorite Ice Box Cookies

These icebox cookies are stripped down to what matters: dark brown sugar, a full half pound of butter, chopped walnuts, vanilla, and flour. No leavening, no spices, nothing to distract from that pure brown sugar-butter-walnut flavor. The dough gets rolled into logs and chilled, then sliced thin and baked for just four minutes.

Four minutes sounds impossibly fast, and it is a razor-thin window. The high butter and sugar content means these cookies go from done to burnt in about 30 seconds. Stay at the oven and watch through the glass. When the edges just start to turn golden, they’re done. They’ll look underbaked but firm up as they cool.

Dark brown sugar (not light) gives these a deeper, more molasses-forward flavor and chewier texture. It also means more moisture in the dough, so slice them thin, about the size and thickness of a half dollar, to ensure they crisp up fully in that short bake time.

Kitchen Tips

• Chill the dough logs at least one hour. Soft dough squishes instead of slicing cleanly. The colder the dough, the cleaner the cut.
• Use a sharp, thin knife and cut with a gentle sawing motion. Pressing straight down crushes the log and deforms the round shape.
• Cool on the sheet for 30 seconds, then transfer. They’re extremely fragile right out of the oven but firm up fast.
• Freeze the dough logs for up to 3 months. Slice and bake from frozen, adding an extra minute to the bake time.

Variations

• Roll the dough log in turbinado sugar before chilling for sparkly, crunchy edges.
• Swap walnuts for pecans for a slightly sweeter, more buttery nut flavor.
• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the dough for a mocha-walnut cookie.