The walnut cookies recipe was passed down to me by my mother-in-law. They’re very easy to make and remain tasty, crunchy, and fragrant for many days. They’re very aromatic, thanks to the presence of liqueur, orange zest, and vanilla. Perfect for dunking in milk, for the kids’ snack, during a coffee break, or after dinner and pair wonderfully with a good herbal tea, cup of tea, and hot chocolate. Walnut cookies can be enriched with raisins, chocolate chips, and so on.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 80 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 lb walnuts
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 5 medium whole eggs
- 1/2 coffee cup Strega liqueur
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tsps baking ammonia
- 1/4 tsp vanilla (Paste or Essence)
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- to taste grated orange zest
Preparation
Let’s prepare the tools we’ll need: 2 square baking trays 16 inches x 16 inches and a smaller tray, two tablespoons, a large mixing bowl, and parchment paper to line the trays.
In a very large mixing bowl, combine the already chopped walnuts, sifted flour, salt, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, grated orange zest, and baking ammonia. Start mixing the dry ingredients with your hands.
Add the lightly beaten eggs, liqueur, and milk. Mix everything until you get a semi-thick batter. You can use a stand mixer or mix by hand. The mixture will be very sticky. Take a heaping spoonful of the mixture and, using the second spoon, place it on the tray. Space the cookies at least a finger apart as they will spread during baking. Continue until the mixture is used up. Place the trays in the fridge for 1 hour.
After the time has passed, preheat the oven to 392°F and bake the cookies, on the middle rack, in the already hot oven for about 20 minutes. They’re ready when the base of the cookies turns golden. Take them out and bake the second tray.
In the meantime, after about 5 minutes, cut the already baked cookies in half (lengthwise), leaving them on the tray. Take out the second tray, cut them in half too, and so on.
Once all the cookies are baked and cut in half, return them to the oven, set at the lowest temperature, for a maximum of 45 minutes, depending on how crunchy you want them. This step is crucial to ensure the cookies reach the right consistency. The crunchier and drier they are, the longer they will keep. Let them also brown on the surface with the grill. Once cooled, they are ready to enjoy. Walnut cookies should be stored in a tightly closed tin box.
