Walnut Cookies, or Walnut Roll-Up Cookies, as we call them in my house are a delicious way to bring the holiday spirit to your home! The dough is made with yeast, so it rises a bit and is then stuffed with a chopped walnut filling that will leave your taste buds singing.
Recipe Origins
There are a few Christmas cookie recipes that are traditional in our family. We make them every single year to celebrate Christmas, and even have a family cookbook that houses all of the original recipes.
Alongside our family-favorite Biscotti Recipe and our Pecan Snowball Cookies, this Walnut Cookie Recipe ranks at the top of our cookie favorites! We make it every single year without fail, and the filling is absolutely to die for. It’s so good!
If you like walnuts and that traditional taste of a drier Italian Christmas cookie, this recipe is the way to go!
Why Make This Recipe
- Bring in the Holiday Spirit: One of my favorite ways to ring in the holiday spirit is to make as many Christmas cookies as my oven can handle (and when my oven can’t handle anymore, then I make these Pizzelle cookies instead). Try out this recipe for a fun and unique holiday cookie that you will love!
- The Walnut Filling: Mmmm I would eat the walnut filling of this cookie recipe by itself if I could! It’s THAT delicious! The walnuts combined with sugar and milk steal the show on this cookie. Try the walnut cookies out and let me know what you think!
What Ingredients are in This Recipe
- Active Dry Yeast: I like using Active, Dry yeast because it is a very easy way to confirm that your yeast is alive. You can use Instant Yeast if you’d like, but there is no way to confirm that your yeast is alive until after the cookies are already baked and it’s too late.
- Sour Cream: I use full-fat sour cream for this recipe. I would recommend doing so as well.
- Walnuts: Use unroasted, unsalted walnuts.
- Milk: I used 2% milk. Make sure to use 2% or whole milk for best results.
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Activate the Yeast
Combine water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and leave for about 15 minutes until the yeast puffs up and becomes activated.
Step 2: Make the Dough
Place the sifted flour into a large bowl, then add the softened butter into the flour. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the butter into the flour until it is a bit crumbly.
Add the activated yeast mixture along with the egg yolks, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix with an electric hand mixer until a cohesive dough forms. Do not overmix!
Cover the mixing bowl with a dish towel. Leave the dough to rest on the counter for 1 hour, then place the mixing bowl in the fridge and allow it to rest for another 4 hours. Alternatively, you can skip the counter resting and simply allow the cookie dough to rest in the fridge overnight.
Step 3: Make the Filling
Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse until they are chopped into small pieces. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix well with a spoon and set aside.
Step 4: Assemble the Cookies
When the dough has finished resting, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roll the dough to ⅛” thickness on a floured board. Cut into 3” squares.
Put 1 heaping tsp of filling in the center of each square.
Moisten the edges of the pastry with water. Fold one corner over in the center, wrapping the walnut filling. Then fold the other corner as well.
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes.
Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- I have never personally tried it, but experimenting with different kinds of nuts (or even a combo) in this cookie would be delicious. Macadamia nuts and pecans are also standing out to me as good options right now.
- Make the filling for walnut cookies ahead of time if you need it! You can store it in the fridge or even the freezer, and simply thaw it when you are ready to bake.
- Please note that the dough will not visibly rise much while on the countertop or while resting in the fridge. It will, however, rise while baking. If your dough is not rising while baking, it is possible that you rolled it too thin. Cookies that are rolled with dough less than ⅛” thick will have a hard time rising!
Recipe FAQs
Are Black Walnuts Good for Baking?
In the United States, it is very common to use English Walnuts in all of our baking recipes. This is the preference of the vast majority of people, so finding another type of walnut in stores tends to be pretty difficult.
Black walnuts typically have a stronger, earthier flavor than English walnuts. If you really want to amp up the flavor profile of your cookies, feel free to experiment with black walnuts!
Can I Store the Dough in the Fridge?
My family recipe used to call for placing the dough in the fridge. Prior to learning best baking practices while practicing for The Foreign Fork, I couldn’t figure out why my dough just wouldn’t rise!
You’ll have a really hard time getting dough to rise if you’re storing it in the fridge. Yeast usually needs a warmer environment to truly flourish.
However, yeast that has already risen will keep well in the fridge, and you can certainly do this for even up to a few days.
Did you enjoy this Walnut Cookie Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes that I picked out just for you:
- Italian Pistachio Cookie Recipe
- Cookie Butter Recipe
- Sables (Algerian Shortbread Cookies)
- Fast and Easy Maple Cookies
- Suspiros
Walnut Cookie Recipe
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Cookie Sheet
- Oven Mitt
- Mixing Bowl(s)
- Dish Towel(s)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp warm water, between 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar, for topping
Nut Filling Ingredients
- 2 cups walnuts
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- Combine 2 tbsp water, 1 packet yeast and 1 tsp sugar in a small bowl and leave for about 15 minutes until the yeast puffs up and becomes activated.
- Place the 3 cups sifted flour into a large bowl, then add 1 cup softened butter into the flour. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the butter into the flour until it is a bit crumbly.
- Add activated yeast mixture along with 3 egg yolks, 1 cup sour cream, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix with an electric hand mixer until a cohesive dough forms. Do not overmix!
- Cover the mixing bowl with a dish towel. Leave the dough to rest on the counter for 1 hour, then place the mixing bowl in the fridge and allow it to rest for another 4 hours. Alternatively, you can skip the counter resting and simply allow the cookie dough to rest in the fridge overnight.
- Place 2 cups walnuts in a food processor and pulse until they are chopped into small pieces. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the walnuts, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup milk, and 1 ½ tsp vanilla. Mix well with a spoon and set aside.
- When the dough has finished resting, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roll the dough to ⅛” thickness on a floured board. Cut into 3” squares.
- Put 1 heaping tsp of filling in the center of each square.
- Moisten the edges of the pastry with water. Fold one corner over in the center, wrapping the walnut filling. Then fold the other corner as well.
- Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 minutes.
- Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
- Active Dry Yeast: I like using Active, Dry yeast because it is a very easy way to confirm that your yeast is alive. You can use Instant Yeast if you’d like, but there is no way to confirm that your yeast is alive until after the cookies are already baked and it’s too late.
- Sour Cream: I use full fat sour cream for this recipe. I would recommend doing so as well.
- Walnuts: Use unroasted, unsalted walnuts.
- Milk: I used 2% milk. Make sure to use 2% or whole milk for best results.
- Please note that the dough will not visibly rise much while on the countertop or while resting in the fridge. It will, however, rise while baking. If your dough is not rising while baking, it is possible that you rolled it too thin. Cookies that are rolled with dough less than ⅛” thick will have a hard time rising!
- I have never personally tried it, but experimenting with different kinds of nuts (or even a combo) in this cookie would be delicious. Macadamia nuts and pecans are also standing out to me as good options right now.
- Make the filling ahead of time if you need! You can store it in the fridge or even the freezer, and simply thaw it when you are ready to bake.
Miranda Eslick says
I am Eastern European and remember these from my childhood Christmas. We made them as a family and they were so good!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
They are the best!! So glad you love them!
Rudolph Waros says
Thanks so much! I do Fairly well and my kids love but in my opinion mine are still not like my mom’s. I will follow yours to the very end. I really appreciate… thanks!!!!
Stephanie says
These are Kiffles! We’ve been making these in my family forever!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
They definitely are, but I didn’t realize that until I googled them just now! I got this recipe from my Italian grandmother, but I had no idea they were also Hungarian 🙂
Jenny B says
Always look to make these when I have time for the holidays. Great for the freezer. Our family recipe has the addition of Pineapple preserves mixed with the walnuts to add a spark of flavor, really adds to the overall flavor and can then leave out milk and vanilla.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Adding pineapple is so interesting! I never would have thought to do that. Thank you for the idea 🙂