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1
Put 1/2 cup of the walnuts and salt in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
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2
Roughly chop the remaining 1 cup walnuts.
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3
Position two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
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4
Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
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5
Add the granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
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6
Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
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7
Beat in the flour, then the ground and chopped walnuts.
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8
Divide the dough in half, forming each half into a ball.
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9
Wrap separately in plastic and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
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10
Put the confectioners' sugar in a large bowl.
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11
Working with half of the chilled dough at a time and keeping the rest in the fridge, roll the dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between your palms into balls.
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12
Arrange the balls on a large baking sheet, spacing them 1/2 inch apart.
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13
Bake the cookies until golden brown on the bottom and just pale golden on top, about 18 minutes.
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14
Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
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15
Toss the warm cookies in the powdered sugar.
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16
Transfer the sugar-coated cookies to a rack to cool completely.
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17
The cookies can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.
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18
Once cooled, store them in an airtight container.
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19
You need to make sure they are cooled before storing them otherwise they will get soggy.
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20
Sift additional powdered sugar and cinnamon over the cookies if desired before serving.
