The Rebbetzin Chef’s Persian Walnut Cookies

Followed directions but after 20 minutes @ 350 degrees the cookies were flat and burned 🙁 Wondering if it’s because I used a sugar substitute (erythritol & monk fruit) which I’ve used for baking breads, muffins, etc, without any problems. Perhaps no flour in this recipe?

I wish the recipe said that the egg yolks should be whipped before adding. Other reviewers mentioned this small but important detail but I saw it too late. I put the walnuts in my mini processor to finely grind. I also think this was a fatal error because between the non-beatened egg yolks and the too finely ground walnuts, I ended up with a runny mess that could not be formed into a cookie. I poured part of the mixture into a small pan an baked it as it was. To the rest of the mixture I added flour until I got the consistency of a cookie. Even then, the cookies ran together into one big, thin cookie. Both of these tasted good but because I essentially wasted a bag of (not so cheap) walnuts, I won’t be making this again.

Made these using almonds instead of walnuts because it’s what I had. Subbed in Swerve for the sugar so the diabetic in the family could eat them, and they were TERRIFIC! Making them again, with walnuts next time. These will be a frequent repeat treat in our house. Thanks for sharing!,

Made exactly as repipe stated. The were very flat and they were also delicious. Have a bit of a kick to them. Very light, nice for a change. Will definitely make again.

These cookies made with ground almonds are good if eaten right away but they got too hard to eat the next day. They’re not good when they lose the chewy texture.

My family loves these. We have some gluten free and some diabetic, they easily use sugar substitutes. Easy to make. Made with Almonds, Walnuts, Pistachios, and even Macadamia nuts.

I made these for an office Christmas party. A few people had gluten sensitivity and there were a couple of vegans (who were OK with the eggs). These came out great. The texture is out of this world. The unusual flavor profile is not everyone’s cup of tea; however, they are delicious and were appreciated by the crowd. Oh, I was out of walnuts and used pecans. Good results. I can’t say whether walnuts would be better or not.

These were REALLY good and light tasting. I used egg white for the wash instead of yolk (because of course I had it 🙂 , and I cut the cooking time by almost half (to 12 minutes) as my oven apparently heats high.

“The Rebbetzin Chef’s Persian Walnut Cookies” are really delicious! I made them for Nowruz (Iranian New Year), and my Iranian-born husband approved them! They bring back memories of Iran and Ameh Fatimeh’s walnut grove in the mountains. Here are my own tips for making these cookies learned through my own trial and error process: (i) sort the walnut halves (grind the imperfect halves for the cookie dough and save the perfect halves for the garnish on top); (ii) weight the walnuts before grinding them so you can just make the entire cookie directly in the food processor after grinding the walnuts (1.5 cups of ground walnuts = 8-1/8 ounces of walnuts according to my measures); (iii) refrigerate the dough before rolling into balls (much easier to work with); (iv) use an actual measuring spoon (teaspoon) for measuring the dough (these cookies spread to about 2″ diameter although the walnut garnish will be the same size as the cookie before baking); (v) CONSIDER REMOVING THE COOKIES FROM OVEN AFTER 10 MINUTES (NOT 20 MINUTES AS IN THE RECIPE) UNLESS YOU LIKE BURNT COOKIES JUST LIKE MY FIRST BATCH. They appear raw, but cook sitting on cookie sheet cooling in the following 10 minutes (as in the recipe description); (vi) the cookies taste best if let to sit a day for the flavor to develop. Thank you The Rebbetzin Chef for sharing your recipe. It is a keeper!

These were awesome! They had a lovely crisp after they cooled and my whole family enjoyed them. I did as another reviewer suggested and I beat the three egg yolks for five minutes before gradually adding the rest of the ingredients. I didn’t grind my walnuts to a powder and I left them in tiny pieces. Also, as I didn’t have rose water or cardamom, I used a teaspoon of maple syrup (I like to substitute vanilla extract with maple syrup; you can hardly notice the difference) and scant two teaspoons of grated ginger instead. I didn’t do the egg glaze and I rolled the dough into 1/2 teaspoon sized balls. I lined my cookie sheets with parchment paper and I baked them at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Sadly some on the bottom rack burned though 🙁 watch them carefully. Other than that, the cookies turned out great! They looked exactly like the ones in the photo. I’ll definitely be making these again. This recipe made around sixty small cookies. They do spread, so don’t forget to leave space between the cookies.

Interesting recipe – made these for Passover. I had no experience with cookies such as these and I read all the reviews before embarking on this discovery adventure. I followed the directions except did not finely grind walnuts, just pulverized some and left others rough. The cardamon and rose water created a lovely scent (reminded me of my grandmother’s bathroom). As far as my preference goes, I found the rose water overwhelmed the cookie. If I repeat this recipe, I’d try an orange water or grand mariner or using half the rose water (the first two changes might disqualify it for Passover? I’m not jewish so I’m not sure). Also using the egg white + water – take care not to let it run over onto the parchment, it glued the cookie down and it ripped when I pulled it off. I’d also make smaller size cookie – they pack a punch and not sure everyone tonight wants to eat a large one. We shall see. Interesting cookie indeed.

Just made our first batch. Recipe seems to work fine as is but I’d like more flavor. The ground walnuts are a bit like a stiff chunky peanut butter. 20 minutes was the right amount of baking time. I placed my cookies a little too close and they fused to other cookies but once they’re cool you separate them easily. A teaspoon looks small but spread a lot. The egg yolk glaze was probably unnecessary. The rose water taste was very faint. Cardamom was pretty noticeable. Texture was great light and crispy. I might add other spices next time, maybe cinnamon or nutmeg. Its a good idea to have an oven thermometer, just because you set it for 350 doesn’t mean that’s what it is.

Just had the most fun trying out this recipe! Read the reviews and followed the recipe as written except substituted pistachios as suggested in the description above. Easy to make and just love the resulting unusual aroma and taste of these cookies. Family loves them, too.

Very easy and just as tasty. Because walnuts are the main ingredient, these are a bit on the oily side.

I followed the recipes as written, but heeded the advise of another and reduced the bake time to 10 minutes. They turned out spectacular! Seems a few folks have different methods of getting the walnuts finely ground. I happen to have a Health Master (Living Well with Montel) and I was able to use the pulse feature to get the walnuts completely ground/mashed. The walnuts ended up to be the consistency of peanut butter. This seemed to work great for this recipe. To get uniform size cookies I rolled a small 1-inch diameter size tube and used a teaspoon to slice each into desired portion size. I rolled each measured unit into balls and topped with a walnut piece. I also sprinkled each with a dash more cardamon for a little extra flavor. I happen to love cardamon! My husband is Persian, and was wowed by this treat. I served this with our afternoon tea.

I took a beautiful platter of these cookies to a party and the following morning, my husband grabbed a few to have with his coffee! Crispy, delicate, light & nice flavor! I used 1/2 ground almonds & 1/2 ground walnuts & I didn’t have time to finish with the egg wash. I baked them on a Silpat sheet, so while they were very soft emerging from the oven, they were perfectly easy to remove, and crisped up immediately when cool.

I loved them, but mine opens up and doesn’t look like the image.

These cookies were a huge hit with my Persian family. They were gone in a matter of minutes! A few tips: My first batched burned very quickly. Start checking on them after 10 minutes. The cookies flattened out a lot. They were very thin so the two inch spacing between cookies is very important. Also, I only used 1 tsp cardamom and it was perfect!

I have baked these twice so far. First time I messed up on timing and burned the batch. Second I followed directions more precisely and ended with some of the most beautiful and great tasting cookies. Will definitely make bake them again. I am not sure why people think three egg yolks were not enough. Dough turned out to be very good. One thing don’t leave them on the baking rack and for me it took about twelve minutes to bake. After ten minutes you have to watch them because they burn very quickly after that.

I’ve made this recipe on several occasions. When the cookies turn out well, they are scrumptious and are easily gone in two days. We refer to them as walnut lace cookies because they are light, have a little crunch, and are flavorful. But, as other reviewers have mentioned, I’ve have had my share of problems with this recipe. Three egg yolks usually aren’t enough to make the batter stick (it hardly clumps together!) So, I either add another egg yolk (making 4 in total) or 2 egg yolks and one whole egg. I also have major issues with the term “finely ground walnuts.” One time, I pulsed whole walnuts in a food processor to create finely ground nuts; I ended up with one, big, runny cookie. Another time, I lightly pounded whole walnuts in a plastic bag with a skillet; the end result was a slightly less runny cookie. So, I now used chopped walnut pieces. My cookies aren’t as smooth as the ones shown in the photograph, but at least they are individual cookies. Also, I think using a silpat pad works better than the parchment paper. As the recipe suggests, do leave space between cookies because they spread and 20 minutes is indeed sufficient cooking time.

These are, without question, some of the best cookies I’ve ever had or made. Not really hard to make at all, and they have a very distinct flavor. I wound up using pecans instead, since I’m sort of a fan of them, and they turned out wonderfully. My grandmother ate most all of these. She’s not usually big on “exotic” ingredients like cardamom or rose water, but she said these cookies were addictive. I’ll definitely be making them again, hopefully figuring the egg glaze out this time.