These Hungarian Nut Roll Cookies are a flakey, cream cheese pastry wrapped around a homemade walnut filling. The filling is sweet, crunchy, and caramelized around the edges!
Nut roll cookies, which are also called Hungarian nut horns, are crunchy, sweet, addicting cookies. In the Hungarian, slovak and polish traditions, they are made at Christmas time; however, they are delightful all year round!
The simple cream cheese pastry crust is the same one used in this apricot kolacky recipe but they taste remarkably different. Both would be a wonderful addition to a cookie platter alongside these pecan snowball cookies, chewy gingerbread boys, and chocolate peppermint kiss cookies!
Table of Contents
Why you will love these walnut roll cookies:
- They have an easy crust with cream cheese that can be made in one bowl with a hand mixer. There is no additional moisture, which makes a very rich, tender pastry.
- The homemade walnut filling recipe is sweet, nutty and can be stored in the freezer for future cookie baking!
- The dough is rolled out in granulated sugar, which creates a sumptuous caramelized crust on the bottom and a crunchy, sweet coating on top. There is no sugar in the dough, so this is a welcome addition!
Ingredients
All-purpose flour: Be sure to measure your flour by fluffing up the flour in the bag then spooning it into a measuring cup. Level it off with a knife. Be careful not to tap or compress the flour. Not measuring correctly, will lead to dry cookies
Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is less salty than table salt and a teaspoon weighs less than other finer ground varieties. It heightens the flavor here and will keep your pastries from tasting dull or flat.
Cream Cheese: I use original full fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese for all my baked goods. Working the cream cheese into the dough adds fat and a little bit of tang. Cream cheese does not behave the same as butter when baked and will create a flakey, tender cookie.
Butter: I use unsalted butter for baking, because you want to control the amount of salt you are adding. Every brand is different and it makes adjusting the recipe a challenge.
Granulated Sugar: The granulated sugar in the filling adds sweetness and caramelizes. There is additional sugar in the recipe for rolling out the pastry dough. This is optional but adds so much!
Walnuts: You can finely chop walnuts with a knife or pulse in a food processor until finely ground. I do not toast them for this recipe. They bake long enough to toast in the nut roll cookie!
Milk: I use whole milk for baking because it adds a richness to the final flavor and texture.
How to Make
The below instructions and photos will give you all the tips you need to make perfect nut roll cookies from the very first time!
Make the walnut filling.
Step 1: Finely chop walnuts with a knife or pulse in the food processor.
Step 2: Add chopped walnuts, sugar, melted butter and ¼ cup hot milk to a medium bowl. Stir together. The mixture should be thick.
Step 3: Allow to sit for 10 minutes then add more milk if it is not a spreadable consistency. The amount of milk varies by how finely your walnuts are chopped. The finer, the more milk. I used all of the milk for the cookies pictured. Filling can be made ahead and frozen. Thaw before assembling.
Make the dough:
Step 4: In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter until completely incorporated and creamy (approximately 3-5 minutes).
Step 5: Reduce the mixer to low and add the salt along with small additions of flour. Adding too much at one time will overwhelm the dough and take too long to mix it. This will create gluten and tough, shrinking cookies! The dough will be soft but not sticky.
Step 6: Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾” thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.
Assemble the cookies:
Step 7: Pre-heat the oven to 375°. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 8: Take one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator and lightly flour both sides. Spread granulated sugar on your pastry board or work surface. Place the dough on top and roll out pastry to 1/16” thick or as thin as possible. The thinner the better. If you roll them too thick, the bottom will burn before the inside has a chance to fully cook and puff up.
Step 9: With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into a square and then cut the square into 16 smaller squares. My dough never rolled out into a perfect circle so I would just cut as many 1 ½ “ squares a possible, saving the scraps for later.
Step 10: Place a dollop of filling in one corner of each square. I used ½ teaspoon. Starting in the corner with the filling, roll the dough around the filling from corner to corner, gently pressing down as you roll. Grab the roll on both sides and pinch as you bend the roll to create a crescent shape. Move it to a parchment covered baking sheet, placing the Rolls no closer than 1” apart. You can offset them in a diagonal pattern to get more on a tray. Repeat with all remaining squares.
Step 11: Sprinkle the middles of the Rolls with just a touch of granulated sugar. Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. They should puff up slightly in the middle. With experience you can see when the dough is cooked. Let cool slightly on the pan before moving them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
This recipe is from June Meyer’s Authentic Hungarian Heirloom Recipes Cookbook with my technique tips.
Chef Lindsey's Recipe Tips
Don’t chill the assembled cookies prior to baking them. This re-solidifies the butter in the dough and will cause them to puff too much. The extra puff will unroll the rolls!
Variations & Substitutions
Filling: These nut roll cookies are also delightful with apricot filling or a traditional poppyseed filling. Pecans can also be substituted for the walnuts.
Size: These can be made large or small depending on your preferences. They are very adorable when bite-sized but more challenging to work with.
How to store nut roll cookies:
Store baked, cooled cookies at room temperature layered between sheets of wax paper and then wrapped loosely in foil. I found that this will keep them as crisp as possible. You can also freeze them for up to three months.
The raw assembled cookies can also be frozen and then brought to room temperature prior to baking. I suggest freezing in a single layer then placing in a ziptop bag.
Freeze the dough packets and filling separately for later assembly.
Frequently Asked Questions
I do not suggest baking them from frozen or even refrigerated. This resolidifies the butter in the dough and will cause them to puff too much. The extra puff will unroll the rolls!
You can absolutely make as a large a batch as your mixer can handle. For larger batches, I do suggest making the dough in a stand mixer.
I do suggest chilling and re-rolling the scraps. They will shrink a little more than the first batch; however, the additional sugar in the dough from the first rolling makes them even more delicious!
Recipe
Nut Roll Cookies (Walnut Filling)
Ingredients
For the Pastry:
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (for rolling)
For the Walnut Filling:
- ½ pound walnuts (finely ground)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup whole milk (boiled)
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted)
Instructions
To make the Walnut Filling:
- Mix filling in a medium bowl using only ¼ cup of the boiled milk. The mixture should be thick.
- If the filling is not spreadable, use the rest of the milk. I used all of it. It will thicken as it sits.
- Note: You can make the filling ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready to use it. Just thaw at room temperature when you are ready to use.
For the Pastry Dough:
- Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).
- Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour. I used 5 additions and completely mixed in the flour each time. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾” thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.
Assembling the Walnut Rolls:
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center.
- Dust each side of the dough with flour. Generously coat a flat surface (countertop, marble board, etc.) with granulated sugar. Plop the dough on top and press gently to push some crystals into the dough. The sugar will keep your dough elevated off the rolling surface enough to keep it from sticking. Lightly coat the rolling pin with flour throughout the process, using as little as possible.
- With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into a square and then cut the square into 16 smaller squares. My dough never rolled out into a perfect circle so I would just cut as many 1 ½ “ squares a possible, saving the scraps for later.
- Place a dollop of filling in one corner of each square. I used ½ teaspoon.
- Starting in the corner with the filling, roll the dough around the filling from corner to corner, gently pressing down as you roll. Grab the roll on both sides and pinch as you bend the roll to create a crescent shape. Gently move it to a parchment covered baking sheet, placing the Rolls no closer than 1” apart.
- Repeat with all remaining squares.
- Sprinkle the middles of the Rolls with just a touch of granulated sugar.
- Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. They should puff up slightly in the middle. With experience you can see when the dough is cooked. Let cool slightly on the pan on a wire rack and then move them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with all remaining dough. Refrigerate and re-roll your scraps. Amazing.
- For a more traditional cookie, you can omit the granulated sugar and dust the final, cooled cookie with powdered sugar. I will warn you that it won’t be as divine.
Video Instructions
My grandma Lorenc always made these,and we knew them as keeflees. Funny thing -I had a grandma Szabo also
Hi Diane! Heritage recipes are the best, thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Terrible way to write down the recipe. The filling ingredients were 1/2 cup of milk and 1 cup of sugar and the walnuts. So that's what I did. My filling was too liquidly. I read further down that I should only use 1/4 of the milk, but the author used all the milk. Well, which is it?! I ruined my batch of filling and I didn't have enough walnuts again to try with less milk.
I think i'll find a different recipe elsewhere for next year. I don't have time to try again for Christmas this year.
Hi Andrew! Sorry to hear you had a bad experience, but as explained in the instructions, you only use the rest of the milk if your filling is not spreadable. Sounds like your filling was spreadable at 1/4 cup and you could have just stayed there, as the sugar, walnut, and butter specific details will impact that.
Andrew, that's a pretty rude and unnecessary comment. It's common sense to read all of the ingredients and directions BEFORE beginning any recipe one is unfamiliar with! With that said, I did, and used a little milk at a time, also keeping in mind that Lindsey also did state the filling would thicken after time. It thickened after a few minutes and then I even put it in the fridge until I was ready to use it and it came out perfect (it was already fine before the fridge). Maybe you can try that next time, and write comments as if the person is standing in front of you and you have decency and respect. She posted this for free and it's been a wonderful hit in my family. I'm still eating them from the fridge after Christmas! Cheers.
Hi Julianna! I'm so happy to hear this recipe has been a hit in your family! Sending warm wishes to you and yours for the holidays. ?
Andrew.. Just a friendly tip - I learned the hard way that the best way to try a new recipe is to read and then reread the ingredients and instructions. Good luck with your next batch, 🙂
It was super easy to make these vegan! I used vegan cream cheese, butter, and milk. They were a huge hit! Watching the video was helpful, too. I made the walnut mixture and dough then let them sit in the fridge overnight so I can bake them first thing in the morning. I didn't waste any dough and re-rolled the scraps. 🙂 Any walnut mixture that spread out while baking got saved and I used it as a topping on my oatmeal. Would make again!
Hi Cristina! So happy to hear you were able to make it meet your dietary needs so easily! Thank you so much for commenting so other folks can use this as a resource, and happy holidays!
I am so excited to find this recipe! Unfortunately I don’t have a way to grind the walnuts in time for this Christmas, but I plan to get a grinder and make them soon. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! My grandma Gondol passed away in the 1990’s and I only have a couple of her recipes. Her maiden name was Szabo, as well.
Hi Rebecca! I can't wait for you to make these, I'm so happy it's a way for you to connect to your Grandma! ?
Hi! I've tried your Apricot Kolaches and they were irresistible! I stored them in the fridge and they seemed delicious to me so I didn't think much about the consistency (it was a trial run). I'm now making both the walnut and Apricot for Christmas but wondering how long they can stay out room temperature? I see your notes about freezing once baked and chilling the dough (or freezing)... but how long can they just sit out for? Only 1 day or 2 or 3 days?
Hi! You could store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days. I'm so happy to hear you and yours enjoyed the Apricot Kolaches. Happy baking! ?
1-1/2” squares will not be large enough for 1/2 tsp filling. The filling, as someone previously is much too much. The recipe suggests a yield of 48 cookies. 1/2 tsp for 48 cookies would be 24 tsps, or 1/2 cup of filling. Cutting 1-1/2 inch squares from 1/4 of the dough should be 12 cookies. One piece of the dough would be rolled out to approximately 6x3-1/2”. Really impossible. This recipe needs major work or be pulled.
They are plenty large enough. The problem is if you over work the dough and the dough shrinks after cutting, then you will end up with tiny cookies. I am sure that if you use an actual 1/2 teaspoon measure, you will find that there is ample room. Happy baking!
How long do you boil the milk?
Just bring it to a boil and then remove it from the heat!
Made the cookies and my husband loves them!! My grandmother who was Hungarian and mother made these also….my grandmother loved making anything with poppyseed and apricot!! ? my issue is that I can’t seem to keep them closed..always open up I try to squeeze them back together!! Some don’t look so pretty, but sure taste good!!
Hi Nancy! So happy to hear you and your husband have been enjoying these, thank you so much for commenting! ❤
I am making these for my boss who is Hungarian. To be sure they would be acceptable, I made a batch and brought some to a Hungarian restaurant where we had dinner tonight and gave some to the waitress. She is of Hungarian descent as well as everyone in the kitchen and these got rave reviews from these “authentic” Hungarians. They suggested I sieve some icing sugar over the finished cookies before serving but otherwise I got full marks. I will say that the 1 1/2” square of dough and the 1/2 tsp of filling as per the recipe resulted in really, really small cookies so I made them 3” square, still about 1/16th to 1/8” thick, and about 3/4 tsp filling and that resulted in a more reasonably sized cookie. I’m glad I did a trial. My husband loves them too.
Hi Carolyn, happy to hear you got rave reviews. Thank you for commenting!
What a wonderful method. I always cut mine into circles and rolled them. Squares are so much easier. Can you store these with other cookies without them becoming soft?
Thank you! 🙂 I would only suggest storing them with other walnut rolls. You could store them with kolaches because it is the same dough in a different shape with a different filling.
You don't mention how thick the dough should be rolled out . I'm thinking it matters!
Hi Judy! You want to get it as thin as you can, around a 1/16th of an inch.
I snuck some helpful advice into my YouTube tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG2h_bv91Rk
Happy baking! ?
Hey Lindsey, you are adorable and my daughter-in-law could be your double. My maternal grandparents were Hungarian and my grandmother would make these, I loved them. I am happy to find this recipe and received the special pastry cutter for a Christmas gift last year. Now I'm finally going to use it. Szabo is a family name, I wonder if we are related or if Szabo is as common as Smith? My question is, CAN YOU FREEZE THESE and how do you store them? Thank you dear one, you are beautiful as is my daughter-in-law.
Oops, I am so sorry, I just saw the answer to my question. Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a joke that my 11 year-od-grandson likes. What do you get when you cross a turkey with a ghost? A poultrygeist.
Your 11-year-old sounds absolutely adorable, I'll keep that joke in my pocket for later use ?
Hi Patricia! I see that you saw the answer to your question! Thank you so much for commenting and telling me about your family--I'm not sure that we're related but I love how baking brings people together. Have a beautiful holiday season! ♥
Wow! I think hungarian walnut rolls is a great idea for Thanksgiving dinner!
I agree!
Can these be refrigerated or frozen to stay fresh after baking?
Hi Tricia, I suggest freezing the baked cookies between sheets of parchment paper or wax paper. You can also store them in the refrigerator but I find it dries them out and somehow makes them less crispy at the same time. Happy baking!
My Slovak Grandmother was a fabulous baker. Her 19 grandchildren practically fought for these walnut cookies.
My aunt gave me the recipe. Your dough is the same. Grandmother rolled them out in granulated sugar. Her ground walnuts were sweetened with simple syrup and she added a bit of cinnamon. The dough was divided three ways. She could roll a perfect square (very thin) and spread a whole cup of filling to the edges. Her recipe used a whole pound of walnuts. Then they were cut into 2” squares and rolled up like little logs loaded with filling. My aunt’s tip was to raise the rack in the oven and bake them at 350 for 25 minutes. Mine are not quite as perfect as Grandmother’s but I’m improving. I find that putting the flour, cream cheese and butter all in my Cuisinart is a good way to mix the dough. Faster than pinching everything together with fingers!
Your Grandmother sounds marvelous! Thank you for commenting and happy baking!
Recipe was just what I was looking for but is annoying that the ads are included on the printable page, like I want to waste ink on that stuff.
Hi Mary! Glad you enjoyed this recipe, it's one of my favorites.
Hi Lindsey,
These are beautiful! Thank you for sharing your recipe because they turned out awesome. I added cinnamon to the nut mixture and the flavour is really Christmassy!
Hi Lina! I'm so glad you tried them! Cinnamon sounds like a delicious addition! I'll have to try that.
To ensure adherence (from my 'Anyu"): Have a small bowl of egg wash at hand. Dollop each 'square' with your filling and then DIP the tip of your finger into the egg wash, touch the edge of one corner of the dough, flip over to attach to the other side. This will guarantee it doesn't open up. To make the cookies even more tantalizing: use a pastry brush and lightly brush each cookie with an egg wash before baking. They don't need to be 'fully' coated so don't worry if you miss a few 'spots'.
Sounds awesome! Happy baking!
So very true. My husband usually dislikes treats and most all cookies. But this one? He is NUTS about these. My "Anyu" -- bless her soul -- use to MAIL these to us each Christmas because she knew how much he loved them. Just last year, I finally 'unlocked' the secret recipe and techniques and well, this will now be on my baking repertoire.
That's wonderful!
Excellent article. Very interesting to read. I really love to read such a nice article. Thanks! keep rocking.
So glad you enjoyed! Thank you for commenting!
Just like Grandma's.
Lindsey, I am a displaced American (making our home in my husband's native England) and am introducing him now to the sweets of my childhood. We've done the Kolackys, and the Pecan Tassies as well.
I laughed at your line about braving the snowstorm to get the cream cheese. I've had to learn how to make cream cheese! The only version available here is the soft and it does not work in icings, or dough. It barely is acceptable in a baked cheesecake!
So, needing to have a lower moisture content, I set about making my own. I will NEVER go back to any store bought version!
It's actually because of making my own I've now been able to make these wonderful treats.
Off to make another batch to send to my in-laws, along with the Hot Cross Buns on the go today.
Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
Thanks for the recipe! I lost my Grandma's and tis is just like it - thank you, thank you, thank you! Made them for my Landlord and he said they were the best he had ever had! Doesn't get better than that! I appreciate you and your talent! Making them again today with different fillings - I just love to bake!
I'm so happy to hear that, Jacqueline! Can't wait to hear what other fillings you do!
Thank you for posting. I have used this recipe for a few years now. My Hungarian grandmother and mother are now passed so this reminds me of them. We had Kifli (pronounced Key-flea) every Christmas so this brings me much joy. I didn't save the recipe but I watched and participate to help them make it. They did not use cream cheese but these taste so similar. These are such a treasure, thank you for sharing! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.
Hi Mary Kelly! I am so happy you've been making these and that they bring you joy! That makes me so happy to hear! Some other people have said their grandmothers or mothers used a type of cottage cheese to make the dough. I have to imagine the cream cheese is a more modern adaptation for available ingredients. Happy baking! Have a very Merry and blessed Christmas!
My family has come together to make these every Christmas since I was a little girl. Grandma (dad's mom) is long passed, but we use her original Slovak recipe. Even my Irish mother helps to continue this tradition (she's 87 now), and our children are now involved, so very old tradition for us! No cream cheese or cheese at all in the dough, and it is a heavy on egg yolk yeast dough. We made almost 400 of these cookies this year, but they're so good that they rarely last til Christmas.
I live in a very hot and humid climate so sometimes it's hard to get pastries to turn out right. Would I be able to use canned biscuit dough (Grands) and roll it out for the dough?
You could certainly try but, honestly, this dough is about as low maintenance as they come. I would stress about it too much. If you have doubts, you could always chill before you bake them. Though in this case, sometimes they will puff too much and cause them to open up. Same with the kolaches
Thanks, I'll try them both ways! They look too delicious not to.
I'm excited that someone said you could fill these with something other than walnuts (I hate walnuts with a passion -- it goes back to great-grandma and her monstrously huge walnut trees). I think I'm going to try this with strawberry jam.
Haha! You could also use the apricot filling from the apricot kolaches
Poppyseed, pineapple w/cottage cheese, cherry.......follow your taste! The dough is the key, just like home. Thank you again Lindsey!
I just found this recipe on Pinterest. I am already in heaven with this and won’t be able to make for a couple of months however it will be one of the first things I do Make. I loved reading all of the reviews and comments which made this even more special! For all of you who left comments sharing family memories all I can say is thank you!
I couldn't agree more, Shelby! I hope you enjoy when you do have the time to make them!
Everytime I make the filling it's very runny...is it supposed to be so messy of a filling?
Hi Mara,
No, it is should be rather thick. Be sure to follow the instructions and start with only half of the milk. Then add more as needed. It also thickens as it cools
My Grandmother was also from Clark NJ and shopped at Shoprite. She made these every year for Christmas along with prune and apricot fillings. I loved them! I wonder if they knew each other since Clark was a small town. My grandmother was Josephine Laskowski.