I recently realized that, while I use walnuts in various recipes, I don’t use them as often when baking cookies. With this in mind, I was set to create cookies with walnuts as the main ingredient.
As I’m fond of walnuts and chocolate combination (check HERE for my Brownies recipe), I decided to flavor the cookies with some raw cacao powder I’ve had at hand. To enhance both flavors, I chose to sweeten the dough with dark brown sugar, and finished with vanilla paste. The dough was assembled quickly and the cookies came out very tasty, with a moist center.
The cookies are mildly sweet, and are great as a quick snack, with coffee or tea. Dusted with powdered sugar before serving, for extra flavor and color contrast, they will make a beautiful and tasty addition to a festive cookies display. Try them and enjoy.
Notes:
* Raw cacao powder is less processed than regular cocoa powder, thus has milder flavor and lighter color, which works well here, as the idea was to keep the walnut flavor dominant. However, if you can’t find it, or if you prefer a more pronounced chocolaty flavor, regular or dark cocoa powder can be used instead.
* The cookies can be frozen, in an air-tight freezer bag, for up to a month. Dust with powdered sugar only after fully defrosting.
Makes: about 50
Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 stick (115 grams) butter, melted and cooled
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 L egg
1 cup flour, packed
1 cup small chopped walnuts
Dash salt
¼ cup raw cacao (see notes)
1 tsp vanilla paste
For serving:
Powdered sugar
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted cooled butter, brown sugar and egg. Add the flour, walnuts and salt and mix with a spatula. Add the cacao powder and vanilla and mix again. Cover the bowl and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line two cookie sheets with baking paper.
3. Roll the dough into about 50 small balls and place on the cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, until the bottom is golden. Do not over-bake; the cookies are meant to have a moist center.
4. Cool over racks to room temperature before dusting with powdered sugar.
Hello Ronit! Happy Holidays to you!
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Thank you Luisella, Happy Holidays to you too! 🙂
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Very tempting! Plenty of nuts!!!
Virtual hugs,
Judie
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Thank you Judie, glad you liked the cookies. The walnuts added such wonderful flavor and texture. Highly recommended! 🙂
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Really love the beautiful combo. Adding to my list
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Thank you Smitha, I’m glad you liked the cookies. They came out very tasty. 🙂
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Perfect Christmasy treats 🎄🎄
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Thank you Jyo! 🙂
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Yummy! Have a Happy Holiday!
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Thank you Angela! Happy Holidays to you too! 🙂
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It looks so delicious, Ronit! Walnuts are just perfect for baking and preparation of these cookies 😍 Happy holiday!
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Thank you Vero, I’m glad you liked the cookies. Walnuts are indeed so great in baking. I definitely need to use them more often.
Happy Holidays to you too! 🙂
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Last-minute cookies – but definitely delicious during the year as well!
Is it correct that the raw cocoa powder is not dark as the normal one?
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Thank you Felix, you’re right about both! It was indeed a last minute project, and the raw cacao powder is indeed lighter than regular cocoa powder. It worked well with the walnuts. 🙂
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Munch time, crunchtime. 🍪👏
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Thank you Gail! Munch and crunch! 🙂
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These sound great because I don’t like things that are too sweet. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen vanilla paste in a store. Not that I ever looked for it.
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Thank you Blaine, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The paste is thicker and more concentrated than the extract. It’s available in some stores, and online. However, good quality vanilla extract can be used instead. I suggest increasing the amount to 1 1/2 tsp.
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Nice recipe! I could go for a couple of handfuls of these with a cup of coffee, right about now. Thanks for sharing this! Happy holidays!
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Thank you Bob, I’m glad you liked the recipe. These tasty cookies do tend to disappear quickly! 🙂
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Looks yummy!!
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Thank you Bernice! 🙂
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I love nut flavored cookies and I bet these are a winner with walnuts. I sometimes make pignolis and everyone loves those little pine nuts. Raw cacao powder is new to me – will have to look for it 🙂
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Thank you Judi, I’m glad you liked the cookies. They were so tasty, I’m now even more motivated to use walnuts in baking. Pine nuts are also a favorite of mine. Will check your recipe for Pignoli cookies.
I enjoyed experimenting with the raw cacao powder. Its’ subtle flavor worked well in these cookies. Though seeing the shelf with all the different powder options made me wonder if we haven’t lost our minds altogether!! 🙂
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Love these delicious & nutritious cookies! Merry Christmas to you & your family!
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Thank you Megala, I’m glad you liked the cookies. They were very tasty.
Happy Holidays to you and yours! 🙂
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Thanks for the explanation of the difference between raw cacao and cocoa…I will probably have to make the substitution. Have the Merriest of Christmases Ronit.
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Thank you Karen, I’m glad you’ve found the post interesting. The cookies will also work well with regular cocoa powder.
Happy Holidays! 🙂
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I love walnuts. This recipe looks wonderful, and I like how simple it is to make.
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Thank you Sheryl, I’m glad you liked the cookies. They are indeed very simple to assemble, and with a pronounced walnut flavor. 🙂
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I really like your blog. A pleasure to come stroll on your pages. A great discovery and very interesting blog. I’ll come back to visit you. Do not hesitate to visit my universe. See you soon.
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Thank you Angelilie, I’m glad you’ve found the blog interesting. Will check out your soon. 🙂
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They look super delicious .Wonderful share indeed .
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Thank you Nisha, I’m glad you liked the cookies. It’s my pleasure to share. 🙂
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These cookies look really good.
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Thank you Chris! 🙂
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You’re welcome. It is well deserved.
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These cookies look amazing! Thank you for the step by step photos! I can’t wait to try them out 🙂
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Thank you Chahinez, I’m glad you liked the cookies and the photos. It’s my pleasure to share. 🙂
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