Walnut Cigarette Cookies

Preparation

1. In a bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the egg whites and the salt, and beat the mixture for 10 seconds, or until it is combined well but not frothy. Sift the flour over the mixture and fold it in with the walnuts. Drop level teaspoons of the batter 4 inches apart onto buttered baking sheets and spread the batter into 2-inch rounds. Bake the cookies in batches in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 6 to 8 minutes, or until they are just firm enough to remove from the baking sheet. Working quickly with 1 cookie at a time, loosen the cookies from the sheet with a metal spatula and roll them quickly, rough sides out, around the handle of a wooden spoon or chopstick to form a thin cylinder, transferring them as they are rolled to a rack to cool. (If the cookies become too brittle, return them to the oven for 30 seconds to soften them.) The cookies keep in an airtight container for 3 days.