It’s Nuts

It could be the secret of Michelle Huneven’s dissatisfaction with the walnut cookie recipes she tried (“A Spicy Dream”; Dec. 14) was the difference in flavor between black walnuts and English walnuts. It is profound.

During all my years of baking holiday cookies and cakes while growing up in Virginia, we often used black walnuts in recipes calling for walnuts instead of the mildly sweet “English” walnuts, which were more for eating and for salads (Waldorf salad and jellied cranberry salads in particular).

Try them in your heirloom walnut icebox cookie recipe, Michelle. I’ll bet they bring you much closer to the cookies you remember from your childhood.

--CATHERINE C. CATE

Tustin