Sand Tarts

Directions

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, stir in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Mix in flour and salt.
2. Create frozen logs for slicing: lay out a 12-18" sheet of plastic wrap. Scoop out 3-4 dollops of batter and plop them in middle to make a horizontal log. Using a spatula, smooth into a rectangle shape. Roll plastic over the log, pressing out air bubbles on all 4 sides. Twist the short ends to seal tightly. Roll the plastic wrapped dough over the counter a few times to create a nice round cylinder or just keep the rectangle. Aim for a log the thickness of a small sand dollar (about 1 1/2" in diameter). Repeat with rest of batter. Recipe yields 3-4 logs. Freeze logs bags until ready to bake, at least 8 hours or overnight. Keeps in freezer several months if well wrapped.
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Remove a log from freezer. With a sharp or serrated knife, slice wafer thin discs and place on parchment lined sheet pans. If dough resists a thin slice or breaks, patch broken slices with other broken slice and shape with your fingers.
5. Push a piece of nut into the center of each cookie. For a cookie as pictured bake 8 minutes or so, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges just begin to brown. For a super crispy caramelized cookie, bake a couple minutes more. Watch closely, browns quickly.
6. Remove from oven, slide parchment off tray right away, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar while hot.