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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Walnut Cookies

    Published: Dec 3, 2024 · Modified: Feb 23, 2025 by Maria Doss · This post may contain affiliate links · 28 Comments

    pinterest image.

    These Walnut Cookies are buttery rich with the flavor of walnuts, and have a wonderfully crisp and crumbly texture. No eggs!

    Jump to Recipe
    round shaped walnut cookies placed on a white rectangular tray.

    Traditional shortbread is made with one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour. However, I tried switching up the ratio to make the walnut cookies less sweet and also added in as many walnuts as possible to let the texture and nutty flavor shine.

    These walnut cookies are basically an eggless shortbread cookie recipe with bits of chopped walnuts.

    Walnuts are perfect not just for the holidays, but also for cozy fall baking. We especially love using them in treats like caramel walnuts or the carrot walnut cake.

    Jump to:
    • Why you'll love it?
    • Variations
    • How to make walnut cookies?
    • Recipe tips
    • Freezing instructions
    • More cookies for Christmas
    • Walnut Cookies

    Why you'll love it?

    • Packed with raw walnuts
    • Only 5 basic ingredients
    • One bowl cookie recipe
    • Tender, crisp and mildly sweet
    • Great make ahead recipe for Christmas and holidays

    Variations

    • Chocolate - Like the tree cookies, spread melted chocolate on top cooled cookies or drizzle using a piping bag like in almond joy cookies.
    • Spices - Skip vanilla extract and use ground cinnamon.
    • Slice and bake - Roll the cookie dough into a log, chill overnight, slice into ¼-inch thick rounds and bake, as in Santa's whisker cookies.
    • Sandwich - Like the skull sandwich cookies, spread Nutella or melted chocolate between two cookies.

    How to make walnut cookies?

    You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.

    2 photo collage.
    round shaped walnut cookies placed on a white rectangular tray.

    1 & 2. Cream butter, sugar, vanilla and salt using an electric beater for about 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy.

    3 & 4. Add chopped walnuts and flour. Continue mixing until it forms a dough.

    Tip: Chop the raw walnuts into small pieces to ensure they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

    a hand punching out cookie dough using a fluted round cookie cutter.

    5. Shape dough into a flat disc and roll between two sheets of parchment paper, until about ⅛ inch thick. Transfer dough, along with parchment papers, onto a baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (up to one day), until firm. Cut circles using a 2 ½-inch round fluted cookie cutter.

    cut cookie dough circles placed on a parchment lined metal baking sheet.

    Bake walnut cookies at 350 degrees, until deep golden around the edges and cool completey on a wire rack.

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    parchment lined black metal baking sheet filled with baked walnut cookies.

    Recipe tips

    The secret to achieving the perfect balance of crispness and tenderness:

    • Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
    • Overmixing can lead to a tougher texture. Like in all homemade cookies, mix the dough until just combined.
    • Allow the walnut cookies dough to chill in the refrigerator before baking. This helps solidify the fats in the butter, creating a firmer texture and also prevents any spreading during baking.
    • Roll the dough to a uniform thickness to ensure even baking.
    • Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.
    • Walnut shortbread cookies are best when they are deep golden brown.

    Freezing instructions

    • Cookie dough - Make the cookie dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 3 months.
    • Baked cookies - Place the cooled walnut biscuits in zipper bags and freeze for up to 2 months.

    Tip: These cookies are the perfect companion to a cup of coffee or tea and make a delightful addition to any holiday cookie exchange, especially at Christmas.

    round shaped walnut cookies placed on a white rectangular tray.

    round shaped walnut cookies placed on a white rectangular tray.

    More cookies for Christmas

    • baked chocolate chip cookie in a black skillet along with two forks.
      Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
    • white ricotta cookies topped with sprinkles placed on a wire rack.
      Lemon Ricotta Cookies
    • 6 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies placed on a round black plate.
      Eggless Oatmeal Cookies
    • chocolate vanilla pinwheel cookies.
      Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies
    brown colored round walnut cookies placed in a white tray.

    Walnut Cookies

    These Walnut Cookies are crisp, buttery, and packed with walnuts. They are mildly sweet and eggless, and each bite gently crumbles in your mouth!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Chilling time: 1 hour hour
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 28 cookies
    Calories: 123kcal
    Author: Maria Doss

    Equipment

    • Electric beater
    • Fluted cookie cutter
    • Parchment paper

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup unsalted butter (225 grams) at room temperature
    • ⅔ cup sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 2 cups all purpose flour (260 grams)
    • ½ cup walnuts chopped into small pieces
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Add the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt into a large bowl and beat using an electric beater on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes or smooth and creamy.
      Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
    • Add the flour mixture and chopped walnuts, mixing only until incorporated. 
    • Divide the dough in half and then roll each half between two sheets of parchment until it is less than ¼ inch (.5 cm) thick.
      Then place dough on a baking sheet (along with the parchment paper) and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about one hour.
    • Once chilled, remove from refrigerator and peel off the top piece of parchment paper. Using a 2 ½ inch round fluted cookie cutter, cut out the cookies.
    • Place on parchment lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Put the baking sheet, with the unbaked cookies, in the refrigerator, while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
    • Meanwhile, gather up any scraps of leftover dough and re-roll. (You may need to refrigerate the dough again before cutting out the cookies.
    • Bake the cookies, one sheet pan at a time, for approximately 15 to 19 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown color. This ensures a crisp and crumbly cookie. Remove cookies from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. 

    Notes

    Bake one sheet pan at a time. 
    Chop raw walnuts into small pieces. 
     
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 203IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.5mg

    Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.

    Did you make this recipe?Mention @KitchenAtHoskins or tag #kitchenathoskins!

    All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anindya Sundar

      February 05, 2017 at 3:01 am

      The beautiful pictures do justice to this wonderful cake. Will try this out

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 05, 2017 at 7:01 am

        Thanks for stopping by Anindya and the kind words!

        Reply
    2. Dixita mour

      February 05, 2017 at 5:05 am

      Can.I replace egg in the recipe, any Suggestions please ?
      I loved the entire recipe and want to try making this one.

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 05, 2017 at 7:07 am

        Though I haven't experimented with eggless baking, I found a proven method online - stir one tablespoon ground flax seeds with 3 tablepoons water together until it's mixed well. You can try this in place of one egg in any recipe. Hope this helps Dixita and appreciate you stopping by.

        Reply
    3. Karen

      February 05, 2017 at 5:48 am

      I was thinking about an orange cake this morning. Your recipe was right on time. I bet it would be good with toasted almonds. I had better make one of each.

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 05, 2017 at 7:08 am

        That's a great idea and would certainly be delish. Thanks for stopping by Karen and happy baking!

        Reply
    4. cakespy

      February 06, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      This is so beautiful, and sounds like it tastes just as good as it looks!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 07, 2017 at 6:40 pm

        Thank you Jessie for stopping by and the kind words

        Reply
    5. Kim @ The Baking ChocolaTess

      February 06, 2017 at 11:58 pm

      Ok, first of all that cake is gorgeous Maria! Second of all, I have some Cara Cara Oranges that I have been wanting to make something with. This looks perfect for that. The orange and walnut together is different...yum!!! <3

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 07, 2017 at 6:41 pm

        Awww...Thank you Kim. It's one of my favorite combo!

        Reply
    6. Jenny | The Baking Skillet

      February 10, 2017 at 4:54 pm

      I love these flavors and please give me anything with walnuts and I will polish it off 🙂 This cake sounds truly tasty and a nice break from traditional coffee cakes!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 11, 2017 at 4:06 pm

        Yes Jenny, orange and walnuts make a great combo. Thanks for stopping by!

        Reply
    7. welile vilane

      February 22, 2017 at 9:33 pm

      This looks sooo good!!! I need to get over my fear of baking and try this recipe!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 23, 2017 at 3:25 pm

        Thank you:)

        Reply
    8. Miss Kim @ behgopa

      February 22, 2017 at 9:57 pm

      It looks gorgeous. I love orange flavored baked goods. It would hit the spot with a cup of coffee!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 23, 2017 at 3:24 pm

        It sure will:)

        Reply
    9. Emily

      February 23, 2017 at 12:00 am

      Love it, and looks simple enough that even someone like me can even do it xx thanks will try this out x

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 23, 2017 at 3:22 pm

        Thank you Emily:)

        Reply
    10. Stephanie

      February 23, 2017 at 5:43 pm

      Yess! I need this recipe in my life. I love orange-flavored desserts. I will definitely be giving this one a try.

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        February 24, 2017 at 11:48 am

        Thank you Stephanie 🙂

        Reply
    11. Veena

      July 10, 2017 at 6:17 am

      This is the first recipe I have tried from your blog.... AND I LOVED IT.
      I was researching various recipes for the rasmalai cake, and found your blog. And I am glad I did!!! So many interesting recipes... not sure which I will try next.
      thank you Maria - and more power to your kitchen.

      Love from DubaiX0X0
      Veena

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        July 10, 2017 at 6:38 am

        Aww... thank you so much and glad that you liked it. Love..

        Reply
    12. Neetika

      June 29, 2018 at 11:10 am

      Looks delicious.. Great texture.. Was wondering, if grinding the walnuts to flour consistency allows more flavour or lesser, than when they are finely chopped!!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        June 29, 2018 at 11:02 pm

        Hi Neetika, grinding walnuts along with the flour helps it to become part of the flour, reducing the gluten which in turn helps the softer texture. In my opinion, that is hard to achieve when chopped. Hope it helps:)

        Reply
    13. Rosee

      August 08, 2021 at 11:53 am

      Thank you so much for this recipe!! Absolutely amazing 🤩 my family love it soooo much and today I doubled the recipe! Definitely a favourite 💓

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        August 08, 2021 at 2:35 pm

        Hi Rosee, Glad that you loved the cake, Maria

        Reply
    14. Vini

      January 14, 2023 at 9:35 am

      Hi I love this recipe. Would love to try this out however I don't have a food processor. Can I use a grinder or hand whisk this?

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        January 15, 2023 at 7:35 pm

        1. Add all dry ingredients into a dry grinder and process until finely ground (make sure to stop and stir twice in between). Transfer to a bowl and save the grinder (do not wash, we will be using later for topping).
        2. Add butter and sugar into a medium bowl and beat with a hand held electric beater, until smooth and creamy (3-4 minutes). Beat in eggs and orange zest, until smooth (about 1 minute).
        3.Add the ground dry ingredients and continue beating, just until it comes together. DO NOT OVER MIX, you can do the final mixing with a rubber spatula.
        4. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and make the topping.
        5. Make orange sugar topping. Add all ingredients into the same dry grinder and process. Sprinkle on top of the cake.
        6. Bake according to instructions.

        Hope it helps - Maria

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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