Walnut Crescents #2
Walnut crescent cookies rolled in powdered sugar, made with ground walnuts, butter, and egg yolks. Delicate, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread that improves with age.
YIELD
3 dozenPREP
30 minCOOK
10 minREADY
40 minThese walnut crescent cookies belong to the same family as Mexican wedding cookies and Viennese kipferl. Ground walnuts worked into a butter-rich dough with egg yolks and just enough flour to hold a shape, then rolled in powdered sugar while still warm.
The dough is made without a mixer. Flour, sugar, and ground walnuts get combined first, then egg yolks and cold butter are kneaded in by hand. This shortbread-style method keeps the texture impossibly tender because you’re not incorporating air or developing gluten. The less you work it after the butter is in, the more delicate the cookies.
Shaping takes patience. Roll each quarter of dough into a long rope about ¾ inch thick, cut small pieces, and curve them into crescents in your palm. They’re tiny, about ¼ inch thick, which is what gives them that snap-then-melt quality.
These are fragile when warm. The recipe warns they break easily during the powdered sugar roll, and it’s not exaggerating. Handle with light fingers and let them cool fully before stacking in a cookie tin.
Chef Tips
- Grind walnuts finely but not to paste. A food processor works, but pulse in short bursts. Over-processing turns nuts oily and the dough becomes greasy.
- Roll in powdered sugar while warm. The warmth helps the sugar stick and partially melt into the surface, creating a thin, sweet coating.
- Bake just until light brown. These go from done to overbaked in under a minute. Light golden edges with a pale center is the target.
- Store in a tin, not a bag. The recipe is right that flavor improves over several days as the walnut oils mellow and permeate the dough.
Variations
- Pecan crescents: Swap ground walnuts for ground pecans for a slightly sweeter, more Southern take.
- Chocolate dipped: Once cooled, dip one end of each crescent in melted dark chocolate for a holiday-worthy presentation.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and ground walnuts.
Make a little well in the flour mixture and add the egg yolks.
Cut butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture.
Knead thoroughly and shape into a ball.
Add flour, if needed, to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl.
Cut the ball in 4 parts and shape each part in a roll about inch thick.
Cut ¼ inch pieces and form small crescents in the palm of your hand.
Place crescents on a greased baking sheet and bake about 9 to 10 minutes, until light brown.
While still warm, roll the crescents in the confectioners sugar (be careful, they break very easily), then place them on a board to cool.
Store in a cookie tin.
The flavor actually improves with time.
Yield: about 3 dozen.
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