Walnut Cookies are soft butter cookies made with walnuts, flour, powdered sugar, and butter. There are no eggs in the dough, which is what makes them short and crumbly.
This easy recipe uses 4 ingredients and takes about 25 minutes. You mix the dough by hand with no mixer, and the shaped cookies freeze for up to 3 months, so I bake half and keep the rest.
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What Are Walnut Cookies?
Walnut cookies belong to the shortbread family rather than the drop cookie family. In Turkey the same cookie is a kurabiye, made in every home with walnuts or hazelnuts, and it is what this recipe grew out of. The European and Middle Eastern versions all work the same way: a lot of butter, no liquid, and a nut carrying the flavor.
You will find them under a dozen names, from Mexican wedding cookies to Greek kourabiedes to Russian tea cakes. The shaping and the coating change from one to the next, but the dough is close to the same each time.
Why This Recipe Works?
- Four ingredients, one bowl, and your hands. There is no mixer to get out and nothing to melt or whisk.
- The dough comes together in about 10 minutes and goes straight into the oven. There is nothing to chill, rest, or roll out first.
- One batch makes 44 small walnut cookies, so it is worth doing when you want a full tin rather than a dozen.
- Walnuts are the only expensive thing in the list. Everything else is butter, flour and sugar you already have.
- You shape them by rolling and pressing with your fingers, so no cutters and no rolling pin.
- The dough is forgiving enough for children to help with, and it does not matter if the cookies come out uneven.
What Makes Walnut Cookies Crumbly or Chewy?
Most walnut cookie recipes promise a crisp edge and a chewy middle. These walnut cookies do not, and that is on purpose. Four things decide which texture you get, and once you know them you can push the recipe either way.
The egg is the biggest one. Egg sets as it bakes and holds the crumb together, which is what chewy means in a cookie. Take it out and the cookie has nothing stretchy in it, so it breaks short instead of bending. Every chewy walnut cookie you find will have at least one egg or a yolk in it.
The sugar is the second. Granulated and brown sugar both melt in the oven and let the cookie spread and set chewy. Brown sugar holds more moisture still, which is why chewy recipes reach for it. Powdered sugar has no crystals to melt, so the cookie stays where you put it and keeps a fine, sandy crumb.
The flour is the one that goes wrong most often. Every Turkish source I checked says the same thing, and it matches what happens in my kitchen: too much flour is why walnut cookies come out hard. Add the last of it a spoonful at a time and stop the moment the dough holds together. It should feel soft, about as soft as your earlobe. Then mix as little as possible, because working the dough develops the flour and turns a short cookie tough.
The bake is the last one. These walnut cookies are done when the bases are golden and the tops are still pale. They firm up as they cool, so a cookie that already looks finished in the oven will be hard by the time you eat it. If you like a little more color and snap, give them 2 extra minutes, no more.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Walnuts - Finely chopped walnuts give the cookies their texture and flavor. Toasting them first for 8 to 10 minutes at 350° F - 180° C brings out more flavor, and they need to cool before they go in the dough.
- Butter - Use softened unsalted butter, soft enough to press a finger into but not melted. Cold butter will not blend in and you end up adding more flour to make up for it.
- Powdered sugar - Icing sugar in the UK. It keeps the crumb fine and stops the cookies spreading, which granulated sugar would do.
- All-purpose flour - Plain flour in the UK. Weigh it if you can, because cup measures vary enough to change the texture.
- Vanilla paste - A little vanilla extract or paste adds a subtle flavor. Leave it out for a plainer 3 ingredient cookie.
How to Make Walnut Cookies?
Preheat the fan oven to 356° F (180° C).
Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper, and set them aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and crushed walnuts.
Gently mix them with your fingertips until combined, and form a nice soft dough.
Take a piece of cookie dough about the size of a walnut and shape it into a ball. Place them on the baking tray and gently press each one down slightly with your fingers. Leave a bit of space between each cookie, as they will spread slightly while baking.
Repeat this process until you use up all the cookie dough. This recipe should yield approximately 44 cookies. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until they are slightly browned on the sides.
Combine a tablespoon of powdered sugar with a teaspoon of cinnamon, and dust this mixture over the cookies while they are still warm.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Use fresh walnuts. Old ones taste bitter and no amount of butter hides it. Toast them for 8 to 10 minutes at 350° F - 180° C if you want more flavor, then cool them completely.
- To soften butter in a hurry, fill a large glass jar with boiling water, empty it, and sit the warm jar over the butter for a few minutes.
- Weigh the flour rather than scooping it. A cup can vary by 20 grams or more, and with only four ingredients that is enough to change the result.
- Chill the shaped cookies for 20 to 30 minutes if your kitchen is warm. They hold their shape better and spread less.
- Mix the dough just until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing can lead to tough cookies.
- Leave enough space between each cookie on the baking sheet as they will spread a bit while baking.
- Take the walnut cookies out when the bases are golden and the tops are still pale. They firm up as they cool, so a cookie that looks done in the oven will be hard once cold.
- Add the last of the flour a spoonful at a time and stop as soon as the dough holds together. Too much flour is the single most common reason these cookies come out hard.
- The dough should feel soft, about as soft as your earlobe. If it is stiff, it has had too much flour.
- Let them cool on the tray for a few minutes before you move them. Straight out of the oven they break apart.
- Dust the cinnamon sugar over them while they are still warm so it sticks.
Variations
If you want to change things slightly, there are a few easy ways to do it without changing the base recipe too much.
You can swap the walnuts for pecans, pistachios, or almonds. Each one gives a slightly different flavor and texture.
A small handful of chocolate chips can be mixed into the dough if you want something a bit sweeter.
Adding a pinch of cardamom or cloves gives a warmer flavor, especially in colder months.
For a 3 ingredient version, leave out the vanilla and skip the cinnamon sugar dusting. You are left with walnuts, butter, flour and powdered sugar, and the texture is exactly the same.
A tablespoon of cornstarch swapped in for a tablespoon of the flour makes them shorter still, which is a common trick in Turkish kurabiye.
Serving Suggestions
Walnut cookies are best served slightly warm or at room temperature.
They go with Turkish Coffee, a glass of Turkish Tea - Çay, or a cup of Salep Recipe (Sahlab).
Put them on a plate with Un Kurabiyesi - Turkish Flour Cookies, Chocolate Tartlets, and Chocolate Covered Oreos if you are putting together a dessert table.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Baked walnut cookies keep for 5 days in a tin at room temperature, or up to a week in a sealed container in the fridge. They stay fresh for longer than most cookies because there is no egg or liquid in the dough to go stale.
You can also freeze the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 6 months. The dough freezes better than the baked cookies. Shape the whole batch, freeze the balls on a tray until solid, then move them to a bag or box for up to 3 months.
Bake them straight from frozen for 16 to 17 minutes, with no thawing. This is how I bake six at a time instead of the whole batch.
Recipe FAQs
Chewy comes from egg and from sugar that melts. For a chewy walnut cookie, use a recipe with a whole egg or an extra yolk, swap the powdered sugar for brown sugar, and take the cookies out while the middles still look underdone. These walnut cookies are deliberately the opposite: no egg and powdered sugar, so they break short instead of bending.
Usually walnuts, butter, and flour, sometimes with sugar counted as a given. You can make these walnut cookies as a 3 ingredient version by leaving out the vanilla and skipping the cinnamon sugar dusting. The texture does not change, they are just plainer.
Beyond walnut cookies, they go into Turkish baklava, into tomato and walnut salads, and onto breakfast plates with honey and cheese. Walnuts also freeze well for up to a year in a sealed bag, which is worth doing because they turn bitter faster than most nuts once they are shelled.
Hard walnut cookies are almost always a sign of too much flour. Add the last of it a spoonful at a time and stop as soon as the dough holds together, and mix no more than you have to. The other cause is overbaking. These cookies firm up a lot as they cool, so take them out when the bases are golden and the tops are still pale.
Not for the texture, only for the shape. If your kitchen is warm or the butter has gone very soft, chill the shaped cookies for 20 to 30 minutes and they will spread less in the oven. In a cool kitchen you can bake them straight away.
Margarine works and the walnut cookies will still hold together, though they taste flatter. Oil does not, because the dough needs a solid fat to stay short. If you only have oil, use a recipe written for it rather than swapping it in here.
Related Recipes
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Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making these ly nutty and crunchy 4-ingredient Walnut Cookies as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂
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Walnut Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter (softened at room temperature) (250 grams)
- 1 cup crushed walnuts (100 grams)
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (350 grams)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar (100 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- ground cinnamon and powdered sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
- Preheat the fan oven to 356° F (180° C).
- Line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper, and set them aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and crushed walnuts.
- Gently mix them with your fingertips until combined, and form a nice soft dough.
- Take a piece of cookie dough about the size of a walnut, approximately 20 grams, and shape it into a ball.
- Gently press on the cookie ball to flatten it and place it on a baking tray.
- Repeat this process until you use up all the cookie dough. This recipe should yield approximately 44 cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until they are slightly browned on the sides.
- Combine a tablespoon of powdered sugar with a teaspoon of cinnamon, and dust this mixture over the cookies while they are still warm.
Video
Notes
- Too much flour is the main reason these cookies turn out hard. Add the last of it a spoonful at a time and stop as soon as the dough holds together. It should feel soft, not stiff.
- Mix only until it comes together. Working the dough past that point develops the flour and the cookies bake up tough.
- The butter must be properly soft, not melted. Cold butter will not blend in and you end up adding more flour to compensate.
- To toast the walnuts, spread them on a dry tray and give them 8 to 10 minutes at 350° F - 180° C, until you can smell them. Cool them completely before they go in the dough.
- Chill the shaped cookies for 20 to 30 minutes if your kitchen is warm. They hold their shape better and spread less.
- Weigh the flour if you can. Cup measures vary by 20 grams or more, which is enough to change the texture.
- Take them out when the bases are golden and the tops are still pale. They firm up as they cool, and a cookie that looks done in the oven will be hard once cold.
- Let them cool on the tray for a few minutes before you move them. Straight out of the oven they break apart.
- Dust the cinnamon sugar over them while they are still warm so it sticks.
- For a 3 ingredient version, leave out the vanilla and the cinnamon sugar dusting. The cookies are plainer but the texture is the same.
- Pecans, pistachios, almonds, or hazelnuts all work in place of walnuts, in the same quantity.
- Baked cookies keep for 5 days in a tin at room temperature, a week in the fridge, or 6 months in the freezer. Shaped raw dough freezes for 3 months and bakes from frozen in 16 to 17 minutes.
C says
Could you please check recipe ingredient amounts. And there is no vanilla in instructions.
Help please.
Ayla Clulee says
Hi C,
The ingredient amounts with exact measurements are in the recipe card. The vanilla is added along with the rest of the ingredients, and is optional.
Let me know if you need more help!
Best Wishes
Ayla
Aileen Lewis says
It was so simple to make, and they turned out perfectly! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Ayla Clulee says
Hi Aileen
My pleasure! Thank you for the lovely comment.
Best wishes
Ayla