Spiced Walnut Cookies
Sandy, buttery, shortbread cookies made with ground walnuts and warm holiday spices. Top them with melted chocolate, chopped walnuts, and flaky sea salt for a festive look.
Servings 2 dozen
Ingredients
COOKIE INGREDIENTS
- 14 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped (divided)
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
DECORATION INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt, to taste (optional)
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place walnuts in a small food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Measure out 1 cup of chopped walnuts and set aside.
- Pour the remaining chopped walnuts into a small bowl and set aside.
- If using flaky sea salt, pour a little bit into a small bowl and set aside.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Use a handmixer or stand mixer to cream together the butter and powdered sugar. Beat in the 1 cup chopped walnuts until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, beating well between each addition until all ingredients are completely combined. Dough will be very dry and crumbly.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
- Scoop cold dough using a cookie/ice cream scoop to ensure even portions. Squeeze each scoop of dough in your hand so the crumbly bits come together, then roll into a ball.
- Place dough balls on the preparing baking sheets, 6-8 cookies per sheet. If you want slightly flatter cookies, press the tops down with your palm; otherwise, you can leave them in ball form.
- Bake cookies at 350F for 15 minutes, or until bottoms are just starting to brown.
- Remove cookies from oven and let stand a few minutes, then transfer Spiced Walnut Cookies to a wire rack to cool. Let cookies cool completely before decorating.
- To decorate: Place the chocolate chips in amicrowave safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until chips are melted and can be stirred smooth.
- Dip the tops of cooled cookies into the melted chocolate, then sprinkle with the leftover chopped walnuts. If desired, add a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt – a little goes a long way!
Notes
Spiced Walnut Cookies recipe adapted from the "Spiced Walnut Crust Cookie with Chocolate Ganache and Sea Salt" recipe from Wilson, CHRISTMAS CHARMS (Hallmark Publishing, 2020).