My Grandmother's Nut Horns Are My Favorite Christmas Cookie of All Time

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Sharing this recipe is my love letter to her.

Nut horn cookies on plate
Photo:

Jake Sternquist

Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
20 mins
Chill Time:
8 hrs
Total Time:
8 hrs 50 mins
Servings:
24
Yield:
48 small cookies

Growing up, my grandmother lived 8 hours away from us so I didn't get to see her very often. But every time we visited, she would serve the same thing for dinner: cheese tortellini in homemade chicken broth, roast beef, and these cinnamon-spiced nut horn cookies. They've become a permanent fixture on my must-bake list for the holidays, and I look forward to them every year. With each bite, I'm reminded of my grandmother's cozy kitchen and her homemade comfort food.

What Are Nut Horn Cookies?

Nut horns are a rolled cooked that's filled with walnuts and sugar. The tender sour cream dough is flaky like a pie crust and the filling reminds me of the spiced nuts you often smell roasting during the holidays. To make nut horns, you'll roll the dough into a circle before sprinkling on the filling. Slice as you would a pizza and roll up each piece to create the crescent roll-like shape.

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Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/2 lb. butter

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 cup sour cream

  • 1 egg yolk

Filling

  • 3/4 cup finely ground walnuts

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for coating (optional)

  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. Make Dough

    Cut butter into flour in a bowl using 2 knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add sour cream and egg yolk; mix well. Shape the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.

  2. Make Filling

    Combine walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.

  3. Prep Baking Sheets

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

  4. Roll Dough

    Cut dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 9-inch circle (1/8-inch-thick) on a lightly floured surface. Spread 1/4 of the walnut mixture on each circle; cut each circle into 12 wedge-shaped pieces with a pizza wheel or chef knife.

  5. Shape

    Shape each piece of dough into a crescent by loosely rolling dough from the wide end of the wedge into the center. Transfer cookies carefully to the baking sheets with small pointed edge of dough on the bottom.

    Test Kitchen Tip: As you roll up each cookie, some of the walnut mixture will fall out. We scrape this up and add it to the remaining nut mixture.

  6. Bake

    Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Watch cookies carefully as they bake; their bottoms tend to brown faster than their tops. Let cookies cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Carefully toss in sugar, if desired, and let cool completely on wire rack.

How to Store Nut Horn Cookies

The cookie dough stores and freezes well. Place baked nut horns in an airtight container and freeze up to 3 weeks.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

178 Calories
12g Fat
15g Carbs
2g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 24
Calories 178
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 12.4g 16%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Cholesterol 40mg 13%
Sodium 66.7mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 15.3g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0.6g 2%
Total Sugars 6.6g
Protein 2.4g 5%
Vitamin D 0.1mcg 0%
Vitamin C 0.1mg 0%
Calcium 18.6mg 1%
Iron 0.7mg 4%
Potassium 45.8mg 1%
Fatty acids, total trans 0.4g
Vitamin D 3.3IU
Alanine 0.1g
Arginine 0.2g
Ash 0.4g
Aspartic acid 0.2g
Caffeine 0mg
Carotene, alpha 0.3mcg
Choline, total 17.9mg
Copper, Cu 0.1mg
Cystine 0g
Energy 744.9kJ
Fluoride, F 0.3mcg
Folate, total 26.1mcg
Glutamic acid 0.6g
Glycine 0.1g
Histidine 0.1g
Isoleucine 0.1g
Leucine 0.2g
Lysine 0.1g
Methionine 0g
Magnesium, Mg 10.4mg
Manganese, Mn 0.2mg
Niacin 0.7mg
Phosphorus, P 41mg
Pantothenic acid 0.2mg
Phenylalanine 0.1g
Phytosterols 0mg
Proline 0.2g
Retinol 78.1mcg
Selenium, Se 5.2mcg
Serine 0.1g
Starch 0g
Theobromine 0mg
Threonine 0.1g
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.3mg
Tryptophan 0g
Tyrosine 0.1g
Valine 0.1g
Vitamin A, IU 290.9IU
Vitamin A, RAE 79.6mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.1mcg
Vitamin B-6 0mg
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 1mcg
Water 10.1g
Zinc, Zn 0.3mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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