Well, that’s why I put “kneading” in quotes. For drier dough cookies. I find I need to use my hands to get everything together/properly hydrated, but I don’t use a mixer for cookies, just a fork for creaming and getting the flour and fat to that pebble stage, a spoon for mixing, and then my hands to bring everything together . It’s not proper dough kneading as for bread.
That’s just squishing, some of which is okay. Kneading is more violent.
Squishing, gathering up to press together, whichever phrase you want to use. Like I said in my initial post: " It’s not really proper bread-style kneading, but compressing the dough a bit so everything comes together." “Squishing together” seems to be the best word for it, but I may fold it over a couple of times and squish. That’s nowhere near enough to develop gluten, though.
Oh, a video is worth a million words. Basically, what you see here onward (at 3:28 in case the time stamp hiccups.). See how it’s chunky and gravelly? (This is more directed at the OP). She kind of gathers it all together, folds it over, smooshes it down, then takes it out of the bowl, and smooshes it a bit more. That’s what I mean by “kneading” in quotes and by the phrase “not really proper bread-style kneading.” I’m wondering if the OP kind of got to that point/texture and simply didn’t bring the dough together with his hands and squished it a few times to form a solid mass.
You walked all over the store, and missed the POWDERED WATER section??? 
Cookies of the tuille, snap (as in brandy) or chinese fortune variety are batters.
Tough dough makes me cough.
The Tough cough as they plough through the dough.
Enough!
I wondered if anybody would pick that up. Dopers are dependable!