These Walnut Shortbread Cookies are tender, with a crumbly melt-in-your-mouth texture. The dough is dipped in egg white, rolled in walnuts, and then baked to perfection. These cookies keep a long time, making them perfect for holidays, but who am I to judge if you want to make them for an afternoon tea, a picnic, or a nice event?
What are these Walnut Shortbread Cookies
I discovered this recipe in an old Romanian cookbook from the 1950s.
I was intrigued by its simplicity and that it did not require any special ingredients.
The cookie is basically made from a shortbread dough, dipped in egg white, and rolled in coarsely chopped walnuts. They look like little spiked balls covered in roasted walnuts.
As walnuts are very popular in Eastern Europe, they are used in many recipes, like this one.
These cookies are very rustic. There is no right or wrong way to make them. The idea is to keep them more or less the same size so they bake evenly.
Crumbly but soft, kind of like a shortbread, but more tender, these cookies are a little gem. The technique for these cookies might remind you of the thumbprint cookies, but they are slightly different, as we do not fill them with jam.
There is something fascinating about the recipes that are 50-80 years old. Everything ingredient was used entirely, and nothing got wasted.
For example, in this recipe, the egg yolks are used in the cookie dough, while the egg whites are used as glue for the cookies, so the walnuts stick to them.
What goes into these Walnut Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients for the cookie dough
- Unsalted butter– the butter needs to be cold. The coldest, the better.
- All-purpose flour– Keep it simple. We do not need rising flour, bread flour, or any type of flour.
- Egg yolks– remember what I was telling you? Egg yolks go into the cookie dough, while the egg whites are used as glue to make the walnuts stick to the dough.
- Powdered sugar – I like using powdered sugar in some dessert recipes. Mixing the sugar with flour creates a smooth dough that is easy to work with.
- Vanilla extract
- Zest from a lemon
Ingredients for decorating the cookies
- Egg whites– I hope you did not throw them away.
- Chopped walnuts– As I told you before, walnuts are the popular choice for these cookies, but feel free to choose pecans instead.
How to make these walnut shortbread cookies:
Before you start working on the recipe, do the following:
Separate the eggs and set aside the egg whites. We will use them for decorating the cookies.
Chop the walnuts.
Cube the butter.
Step 1. In a large bowl, place flour, powdered sugar, butter, and lemon zest.
Work the butter into the flour and sugar until you obtain a sandy mixture.
Step 2. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, and mix until you obtain a smooth, nonsticky dough.
Step 3. Shape the dough into a log or a ball, wrap it in foil and place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Remove the dough from the fridge and put it on a clean surface.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie dough with parchment paper and set it aside.
Beat the egg whites with a fork. In a different bowl, place the coarsely chopped walnuts.
Step 4. Take small pieces of dough and shape them into 1 inch balls.
Step 5. Dip them into the egg whites, then roll them on the chopped walnuts, pressing gently to help the walnuts stick to the cookie.
Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the cookie tray.
Bake until edges are lightly browned and cookies are set for about 25 minutes.
Step 6. Remove the baking tray from the oven and dust the cookies with powdered sugar. Place the cookies on a metal rack to cool.
Tips for making these Walnut Shortbread Cookies
Yes, you can freeze the dough for later use. Also, you can freeze the already baked cookies, which is an excellent opportunity to make these cookies in advance for the holidays. Here is how:
Freezing the dough:
Wrap the dough in foil, put it in a freezer bag, then freeze it for up to three months.
When ready to bake the cookies, bring the dough to room temperature and continue with the recipe.
Freezing the already baked cookies:
If you end up with too many cookies, freeze them. Place the cookies in a plastic container or Ziploc bags and freeze them for up to 30 days. Thaw them until they reach room temperature, or place them in a 350F warm oven for 3-4 minutes to bring them back to life.
No, you can use pecans, chopped almonds, pistachios, or any nuts you like. I like these cookies with walnuts, and this is how the original recipe is made, but you go ahead and make these cookies yours.
No, you don’t need to. The danger of roasting the nuts before baking the cookies is that the walnuts will burn if they are baked twice. Please follow the recipe, and your cookies will be delicious.
Some other recipes to love
Almond-Cranberry Shortbread Cookies
44 Christmas Cookies & Bars From Around The World
Polvorones De Limon- Traditional Spanish Christmas
Peanut Butter Snowball Cookies
Check out our web story for this recipe: How to make Walnut Shortbread Cookies.
Enjoy!
Walnut Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- Zest from 1 lemon
- ¾ cups +2 Tablespoons unsalted butter very cold cubed small, or 14 tablespoons
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decor:
- 2 large egg whites
- 7 ounces chopped walnuts
- 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar for dusting the cookies
Instructions
- Separate the eggs. Place the egg whites in a small bowl. Set aside. Chop the walnuts. Cut the butter into small cubes.
- Note: We will use the egg yolks for the dough and the egg whites to decorate the cookie.
- In a large bowl, place flour, powdered sugar, butter, and lemon zest. Work the butter into the flour and sugar until you obtain a sandy mixture.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla, and mix until you obtain a smooth, nonsticky dough.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in foil and place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a clean surface.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie dough with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Beat the egg whites with a fork. In a different bowl, place the coarsely chopped walnuts.
- Take small pieces of dough and shape them into 1 inch balls. Dip them into the egg whites, then roll them on the chopped walnuts, pressing gently to help the walnuts stick to the cookie.
- Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the cookie tray. Bake until edges are lightly browned, and cookies are set for about 25 minutes.
- Remove the baking tray from the oven and dust cookies with powdered sugar.
- Place the cookies on a metal rack to cool.
Maria
Tuesday 13th of December 2022
Wonderful!
Maria
Monday 12th of December 2022
Hi, Gabriela, Thank you for your reply. Yes, I think I must have used a lot less butter than required. This encourages me to try again and make another batch. Suggestion: besides giving the quantities in cups/tablespoons, add also quantities in grams. It's rather hard to measure very cold butter in tablespoons. Merry Christmas!
Maria
Tuesday 13th of December 2022
@The Bossy Kitchen, This is very interesting! I did not know about the measuring marks on American butter. I live in Canada (Toronto) and our butter is usually in 1lb solid packages. There are also butters sold in 4 separate sticks within the 1lb package, but they are rarer and a bit more expensive. Even in these packages we do not have such detailed cutting markings - there are fewer of them (1/2, 1/3, 1/4 cup, 1 Tbsp - I think). Anyway, thinking back, I figured out why I used less butter (brain pause moment). What amazes me is the fact that, even with all my mistakes and tribulations, the resulting cookies are good - actually, they are wonderful! I will certainly make another batch before Christmas. Crăciun fericit!
Maria
Tuesday 13th of December 2022
@The Bossy Kitchen, How silly of me not to notice the Metric conversion! Egg on my face!
The Bossy Kitchen
Monday 12th of December 2022
I also forgot to tell you that American butter comes marked in tablespoons for easy convenience, so you just have to cut it. Here is a website that shows you why in the US we talk about tablespoons of butter or cups and not grams. https://www.holyjuan.com/2013/11/helpful-cooking-hints-with-holyjuan.html
The Bossy Kitchen
Monday 12th of December 2022
Hi Maria, Thank you for your reply. The recipe card at the bottom of the article can be adjusted by clicking on the button that says either US Customary or Metric. If you click on Metric, you will get all the ingredients in grams. If you click on US customary, it takes you back to the US system. It works like magic!
I really hope you try the recipe again. It is an easy one and super delicious! Thank you for visiting and writing to me.
Maria
Saturday 10th of December 2022
My experience... I mixed flour, powdered sugar, butter, and lemon zest in the food processor with the main blade - no "sandy mixture" was formed, it all looked like flour. Added egg yolk and vanilla and continued to process - no "smooth, nonsticky dough" was obtained, it all looked like coarse flour. In desperation, poured it all on the pastry board, gathered it and added water little by little while kneading it. Then I had to add some more flour to obtain a doughy mass that could be handled. After chilling it, the rest was OK, but I think I might have made the balls too large since they were not cooked all through after 25 minutes. Had to put them back in the oven for another 10 min - still the centers were not entirely cooked. The cookies look nice and taste good, but the centers are undone.
The Bossy Kitchen
Saturday 10th of December 2022
Hi Maria, I am not sure why you had issues. I hope you measured the ingredients right. This dough has 14 tablespoons of butter and 2 cups of flour. That should give you enough fat for the sandy texture. (There is a picture in the article showing you what the dough looked like when I added the egg yolks.) Also, when you add the two egg yolks and vanilla, you add the necessary moisture to bring the dough together.
I am not telling you in the article to knead the dough. You just have to shape it into a log or a ball and refrigerate it for 30 minutes. Kneading is a big no when making cookies as we do not need to develop the gluten in the dough.
The cookies did not bake in the middle because you added too much moisture to the dough and also destroyed the pockets of butter trapped in the flour by kneading the dough. I think your dough ended up being too wet and too greasy.
The recipe shows you the ingredients in cups and oz, but you can also check out the metric system, in case you have a scale, so you can measure the flour, butter, and sugar correctly next time.
Katerina | Once a Foodie
Friday 3rd of September 2021
I agree - I love old recipes also, and this one seems so familiar, like something my Polish grandmother would make for Christmas. I've saved it and definitely will give this a go - thanks so much for sharing!