Walnut Cookies Recipe

Walnut shortbread cookies on a plate next to a tea cup.

Walnut cookies are a buttery shortbread cookie made with cream cheese and coated in walnut pieces. They're a decadent treat. Warning, biting into just one walnut shortbread cookie won't do the trick, they're addicting.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

▢ 4 cups flour
▢ 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
▢ 2 cups butter (4 sticks at room temperature)
▢ 6 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
▢ 1 ¼ cups sugar
▢ 2 tablespoons vanilla (plus ½ teaspoon)
▢ 1 ½ cups walnuts (toasted, coarsely chopped)
▢ 1 ½ cups walnuts (finely chopped)

Instructions

Whisk together flour and salt.
In an electric mixer, combine butter and cream cheese and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla and reduce speed to low. Slowly add flour until just combined. Mix in toasted walnuts.
Divide dough in half and shape into 2-3 logs, 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. (You can freeze at this point)
Preheat oven to 350º and line pans with parchment paper.
Remove from the refrigerator and let the dough soften just enough that the finely chopped walnuts will stick to the log. Cover each log with walnuts pressing the nuts into the dough. Slice into ¼ inch slices and place on parchment paper.
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown around the edges, about 18-20 minutes

Barbara's Notes + Tips

Use a serrated knife to cut the dough.
You can substitute pecans for walnuts.
You only need to toast the walnuts that are going inside the cookies, the walnuts on the outside will toast as they are baking.
You can freeze the logs of dough. Let thaw before slicing.

Nutrition