Polvoron - cookies with ground walnuts

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (230 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups premium wheat flour
• 1/2 cup ground walnuts
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for garnish

Preparation:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, then the ground and chopped walnuts. Divide the dough into two portions and form each into a ball. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 160C.
3. Work with each portion of dough in turn, keeping the remaining dough in the refrigerator. Roll the dough into balls, using 2 heaping tablespoons for each cookie. Place the balls on a large baking sheet, leaving 1.5 cm (0.5 in) between them.
4. Bake the cookies until the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are lightly golden, about 18 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Dust the warm cookies with powdered sugar. Transfer the sugar-dusted cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (The cookies can be made up to two days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.) You can dust the cookies again with powdered sugar before serving.