Chocolate-Dipped Crescents

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) plus 1 tsp. margarine
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix 3/4 cup margarine with the next 4 ingredients, in the order given. Pull off small handfuls of the dough and roll them into 1/2-inch cylinders about 1-inch long. Shape the cylinders into crescents and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned, then let cool.
• While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate chips and remaining teaspoon of margarine together in a medium saucepan over very low heat. Remove from the heat.
• Once the crescents have completely cooled, dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate mixture and place on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Chill in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes.

Makes 36 crescents