Nut Cookies
Recipe for popular shortbread nut cookies with filling
Christmas is ahead of us, and then carnival, so prepare with me the popular shortbread nut cookies. These walnut-shaped cookies used to be made by our grandmothers and mothers in special molds. Today it’s easier, and we can use electric nut cookie makers. Regardless of the equipment, preparing nut cookies will be very similar. It takes a bit of time, but after all, these cookies are usually made once a year, so you can dedicate yourself :) So, who’s making nut cookies with cream with me?
Table of contents
Nut cookies recipe step by step
If such cookies were an inseparable part of holidays in your childhood, now be sure to make them for your family too. See this recipe and check out my recipe for nut cookie dough and for nut cookie cream.
Nut cookies recipe
Wyposażenie
- Specjalna patelnia do ciasteczek orzeszków albo specjalna maszynka.
Składniki
ingredients for nut cookie dough
- 250 g wheat flour – all-purpose (type 450/500 – 1 and 2/3 cups)
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda (or a level teaspoon of baking powder)
- 100 g butter
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (slightly heaped)
- 3 egg yolks (from size L eggs)
- 1 tablespoon natural yogurt (or cream)
- water (optional – to consistency)
ingredients for nut cookie cream
- 125 g mascarpone cheese
- 50 g milk chocolate
- 1 tablespoon nut paste (slightly heaped, I used hazelnut paste, peanut butter can also be used)
Instrukcja
Nut cookie dough recipe
- Knead the dough from flour, egg yolks, butter, baking soda, sugar, and yogurt.250 g wheat flour – all-purpose, 0.5 teaspoon baking soda, 100 g butter, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, 3 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon natural yogurt
- If the dough doesn’t quite stick together, add a little cold water – I added one tablespoon.water
- Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for about an hour – for the dough to chill.
How to make nut cookies
- Heat up the nut cookie machine, or if you have a pan, heat it from both sides.
- From the chilled dough, tear off small pieces of dough and roll them into balls.
- Place the balls into the indentations of the mold.
- Close the mold/pan and bake the nut cookies for about 2 minutes (if you are doing this in a pan, after about 2 minutes, flip the pan and bake for a little longer on the other side).
- Carefully remove the baked cookies from the mold and set aside to cool.
- If the cookies are not perfectly shaped – they have excess dough on the sides, you can remove it using a fine grater or a knife.
How to make cream for nut cookies
- Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie – pour some water into the bottom of a saucepan, place a heatproof bowl on top of the pot and put lightly chopped chocolate into it.50 g milk chocolate
- Boil the water in the pot and wait for the chocolate to melt.
- Blend the mascarpone cheese with nut paste or peanut butter, add the melted chocolate and blend thoroughly together.125 g mascarpone cheese, 1 tablespoon nut paste
- To make your work easier, I recommend transferring the cream to a piping bag.
- Apply the cream into the indentations of the cookies, then stick two halves together.
- It’s best to store the finished cookies in an airtight container and leave them overnight.
- The shortcrust pastry will soften slightly from the cream, and the nut cookies will then be better to eat.
Uwagi
Wartości Odżywcze
Nut-shaped cookies – notes
Nut cookies are very popular cookies usually baked for Christmas. I had never made them before because I didn’t have the right equipment. Finally, I did some research and bought the appropriate equipment.
How to make nut cookies – tips
To bake these shortbread cookies, you will need a special pan or a nut cookie maker. The pan is a bit cheaper than the machine, but I ultimately decided on the latter option. The greater simplicity of baking and shorter time appealed to me. The machine bakes cookies from both sides at once. If you’re making nut cookies in a pan, you need to flip it during baking and fry the cookies on the other side. It’s not a big problem, but I have a gas stove and was worried that the cookies might fry unevenly. The machine holds 24 nut cookies at once and they are ready in about 2 minutes. So, baking the entire batch of nut cookies took me less than 10 minutes.
See how to make nut cookie dough, the recipe for it is placed just above. The nut cookie dough itself is not problematic or difficult to prepare. I spent most of my time dividing it into appropriately sized portions. From the ready dough, I tore off small pieces and rolled them into balls. I placed the balls into the indentations in the mold. By closing the lid of the machine (or pan), the dough is pressed and fitted into the mold.
If there’s too much dough, it will slightly overflow the indentation. And if there’s too little, the cookie will be smaller.
You can gently grate the cooled nut cookies with a fine grater – if the excess “overflowed” dough bothers you.
What to fill nut cookies with – what cream for nut cookies?
I’ve seen that cookies are most often filled with butter-nut cream. I myself am not a fan of butter creams, so I decided to prepare my own cream. I melted milk chocolate in a bain-marie, and then blended it with mascarpone cheese and nut paste. For these nut cookies, I used hazelnut paste, but you can also use almond cream or peanut butter. I didn’t sweeten the cream further – the sweetness of the milk chocolate was entirely sufficient for me.
I transferred the cream to a piping bag, cut off the tip, and piped it into the cookie halves. You can apply a little cream to each half (flatly) and then stick two halves together. Or, apply a lot of cream to every other half and place another cookie on top. The technique is up to you – whatever is more convenient for you.
How to store nut cookies?
After assembling the cookies with cream, put them in an airtight container and ideally leave them overnight. The shortbread dough will soften slightly under the influence of the cream, and the cookies won’t be so hard. Before serving, you can additionally sprinkle them with a little powdered sugar, or even drizzle with melted chocolate. Do you bake such cookies? What do you like to fill them with?
P.S.
I also recommend other Christmas recipes from the blog. I also warmly invite you to my Instagram, where you will find many of my recipes in an easy-to-save-for-later format.
Recommended Christmas cookie recipes
If you like not only cakes but also delicious cookies during the holidays, be sure to try my other recipes as well. Here I recommend these three:
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Walnut-Shaped Cookies Recipe
The recipe for these walnut-shaped cookies (ciasteczka orzeszki) brings back so many childhood memories. They were incredibly popular when I was growing up, and despite the passing years, they remain a huge favorite—just like chocolate concrete blocks (blok czekoladowy) or puffed rice treats (szyszki). Unfortunately, my mom never baked these, so I didn't get to enjoy them at home back then. Eventually, I finally decided to buy a special cookie maker, and now I can whip up these walnut cookies whenever the craving strikes! This time, I’ve made them with the upcoming Christmas holidays in mind. I always bake a variety of cookies for Christmas; along with gingerbread, I love shortcrust nutty treats. These cookies are shaped to look exactly like real walnuts, which is where they get their name. They look absolutely beautiful and will make a stunning centerpiece on any holiday table!
Walnut Cookies Recipe
To make these cookies, you will need a special walnut cookie mold pan or an electric walnut cookie maker. Without one, you won't be able to bake the hollow shortcrust shells that hold the filling. So, what is the best filling for these walnut cookies? I decided to go with a chocolate-hazelnut cream made with a mascarpone cheese base. However, a traditional buttercream filling is also very popular. If you are in a rush, you can simply fill them with some store-bought chocolate-hazelnut spread (like Nutella). No matter which filling you choose for your orzeszki, one thing is for sure—they will taste absolutely divine!
To all fellow cookie lovers, I warmly invite you to try my other recipes for delicious homemade cookies!
