I Invest Everything in Gold

Assessing my cookie decorations as I am gearing up for some holiday baking, I notice that I'm heavily invested in metallic sanding sugar, nonpariels, and glitter. In fact, I think I might have a problem. I don't know anyone else who owns a canister of Dazzling Delights Gold Decorating Spray. Half of my household thought that spray paint on cookies was a good idea, but the other half recoiled at the idea. So when I made some Walnut and Brown Sugar cookies, I only sprayed half of them. But I sprinkled all of them with gold sanding sugar. Here is the recipe:

Walnut and Brown Sugar Cookies
Makes about thirty-six 3-inch cookies

3//4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups walnut pieces, toasted, cooled, and finely chopped
Gold decorating spray (optional)
1/2 cup milk, semisweet, and/or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon coarse gold sanding sugar (optional)

1. Combine butter, confectioners' sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and beat until smooth. Stir in flour, cinnamon, and salt until just incorporated. Stir in chopped nuts.
2. Divide dough into 2 equal portions, shape each one into a 5-inch disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Working with one dough disk at a time, roll dough into a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured countertop. Turn the dough often, loosening it from the countertop with a large offset spatula, to prevent sticking.
5. Use a cookie cutter to cut the dough, rerolling scraps and re-cutting until all dough is used. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake until firm, 9 to 11 minutes. Slide cookies, still on parchment, onto wire racks to cool.
6. To decorate, lightly spray with decorating spray if desired. Dip tines of a fork in chocolate and wave over cookies to create a striped pattern. Sprinkle with sanding sugar so it adheres to melted chocolate if desired. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.