brown butter walnut sugar cookies
Brown butter walnut sugar cookies are the perfect roll-out cookie for the holidays! Dressed up with candied walnuts and festive sprinkles, I’m dreaming of these rich and buttery cookies as a delicious treat while gift wrapping, decorating, and enjoying a mug of hot cocoa!
In the spirit of the holidays, I’ve teamed up with my friends from Santé Nuts to bring you the ultimate recipe for your holiday cookie exchange!
With finely chopped candied walnuts incorporated into the dough, the soft and tender sugar cookies hold their shape in the oven and pair beautifully with swirls of brown butter cream cheese frosting. With a melt-in-your-mouth texture, these cookies are irresistible down to the last crumb!
Brown Butter Walnut Sugar Cookies
- Yield: 24 sugar cookies
Description
Brown butter walnut sugar cookies are the perfect roll-out cookie for the holiday season! Try these rich and buttery cookies for your next cookie exchange.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup Santé candied walnuts, finely chopped
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 oz reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
For Decorating
- Santé candied walnuts, finely chopped
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Whisk together chopped walnuts, flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until creamy; beat in cream cheese and egg until combined. Beat in vanilla until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; beat just until incorporated.
- Divide dough in half and roll out each half into just shy of a 1/4-inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Transfer to the freezer (keep flat) and chill until firm, about 45 minutes (chilling the dough is essential). Once the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the top layer of parchment paper from the dough and use cookie cutters to cut out cookies before transferring to prepared baking sheets. Chill in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Bake, rotating pans halfway through, for 14 to 16 minutes, until lightly golden and tops and edges are set. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets before decorating (cookies can be baked a day ahead).
- For the frosting, cook 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown. Pour brown butter into a mixer bowl and let cool to room temperature. Add butter and cream cheese, and beat until combined. Mix in vanilla and salt. Beat in powdered sugar on low speed until incorporated, then on medium speed until soft and creamy. If frosting is very soft, chill for 30 minutes before using.
- To decorate, use an offset spatula to spread swirls of frosting over cookies. Top with candied walnuts and sprinkles.
Notes
Yield will vary depending on the size of your cookie cutters. Make ahead: Shaped, unbaked cookies can be frozen up to 3 months and baked directly from the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to baking time.
Keywords: Brown Butter, Walnut
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Santé Nuts. All opinions expressed are my own.
21 comments
Love how you created a fancier sugar cookie by browning the butter, adding candied walnuts, a special frosting and holiday sprinkles for a more festive holiday sugar cookie! Just brilliant, Laura. 🙂 As always, thank you for sharing. Pinning!
Thanks so much, Stacy! 🙂
Just checked with amazon and will not get the candied walnuts in time.
Can I use regular walnuts ?
Hi Kathy, yes you can use regular walnuts. You could also make your own candied walnuts (or candied pecans) with my recipe here: https://tutti-dolci.com/2014/11/brown-butter-cranberry-ice-cream-with-candied-pecans/ Hope that helps! 🙂
Got your candied nut recipe . Perfect ,ty. Using a Star of David cookie cutter and blue sprinkles . Same great cookie, different holiday !
What a great idea, hope you enjoy! 🙂
If you’d like to try out the Santé candied walnuts in your next batch, you can save 10% off your purchase from http://www.santenuts.com/ with code: HOLIDAYNUTS18
Happy baking! 🙂
Cookie season never looked better Laura! I’ll be adding these to my holiday baking list for sure! When are you going to write a cookbook?? I’ll be the first in line to grab a copy!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Mary Ann! 🙂
So festive! My first holiday event is next week, these fabulous cookies would be the perfect sweet to bring and share.
Ooh, the double dose of candied walnuts makes for some out of this world holiday cookies! Delicious!!
★★★★★
Gorgeous cookies! I love the addition of candied walnuts! They must taste so good 🙂
Christmas needs sugar cookies and these look perfect!
Love your festive cookies, I’ve pinned them. What would be the best way to store them with their icing and sprinkles?
Thanks Karen! You can store the decorated cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. Loosely cover the tray with plastic wrap after they’ve chilled for at least 30 minutes (the frosting sets up nicely with a brief chill). Hope that helps! 🙂
Where can I find these sprinkles at? I love them.
Hi Kristin, the sprinkles are from Sweetapolita. Here’s the link to the exact pattern: https://sweetapolita.myshopify.com/products/reindeer-games-twinkle-sprinkle-medley?variant=4163267559452 🙂
Oh my gosh, gorgeous! OBSESSED with Sante Cardamom Cashews over here myself 🙂
Thanks so much! I haven’t tried the cashews yet, but they sound incredible! 🙂
By the way, you can save 10% off your next purchase from http://www.santenuts.com/ with code: HOLIDAYNUTS18
Happy baking! 🙂
Laura these look fantastic!!!!