Walnut Recipes

Lemon quick bread with fresh lemon zest and chopped nuts, finished with a tart lemon glaze soaked in while still hot. Bright, tender, and easy to make.

Lemon butter layer cake baked in a tube pan, sliced into four layers filled with lemon cream and topped with caramelized nut crunch. A three-component vintage dessert with big citrus flavor.

Lemon cream and nut cookies, buttery shortbread ovals spread with homemade lemon curd and crowned with toasted almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, prunes, rum-soaked raisins, and candied orange. A jewel-box holiday cookie.

The colors the fruits used in the cookies suggest those of the robes worn by the four ordres mendiants, monastic orders that originally lived on charity -- the Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans and Franciscans.

Lisa Bower's cocoa brownies with a full cup of melted butter, four eggs, and two cups of chopped walnuts. A rich, one-bowl brownie loaded with nuts.

Low-fat raspberry cheesecake with a buttery walnut crust, fluffy marshmallow filling, and jewel-toned berry glaze that cuts back on guilt without sacrificing creamy indulgence.

Buttery thumbprint cookies filled with jelly or preserves and rolled in powdered sugar. A tender shortbread-style cookie with chopped nuts and vanilla.

Malfatti (Italian spinach and ricotta dumplings) with Parmesan, nutmeg, and melted butter. Lighter than gnocchi and ready in 30 minutes. The key is squeezing every drop of water from the spinach.

Maple walnut pie fills a flaky shell with toasted walnuts in a glossy pure-maple-syrup filling thickened with browned butter and flour. The Canadian cousin to Southern pecan pie.

Melomacarona, traditional Greek honey cookies made with oil instead of butter, dipped in warm honey syrup and topped with chopped walnuts. Egg-free and butter-free.

Minced lamb fondue rolls seasoned ground lamb with scallions and breadcrumbs into walnut-sized balls that get speared and deep-fried at the table. Served with a creamy sherry-mushroom sauce for dipping.

Mint chip brownies loaded with mint chocolate chips and chopped walnuts in a fudgy cocoa-based batter. One bowl, no melting chocolate, and ready in 35 minutes.

Chewy chocolate drop cookies with buttermilk, melted unsweetened chocolate, crushed peppermint Lifesavers, and walnuts. A minty, fudgy cookie with real candy crunch.

Old-fashioned molasses gingersnaps with deep molasses flavor, a full tablespoon of ground ginger, and that signature crackled top. Crisp at the edges, slightly chewy in the center.

Zucchini muffins with cinnamon, brown sugar, and chopped walnuts. Moist and tender from grated zucchini, this easy batter also works as two full-sized bread loaves.

Mazurka cookie bars with an almond shortbread base topped with a fruity filling of apricots, figs, raisins, walnuts, and candied orange peel, finished with powdered sugar icing.