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Pastries and Cookies

Walnut Thaler Cookies

by Nicole

Walnut thaler cookies sandwiched with jam, topped with white lemon glaze and a walnut half

5.0 (30)out of 5, 30 ratings

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Prep
1 hr
Bake
10 min
Total
1 hr 10 min
Makes
50 cookies

I've loved these walnut cookies since I was a child. My mom used to bake them every year at Christmastime. I've been baking cookies myself since I was 16 and have tried lots and lots of varieties since then. But these are still among my favorite cookies. They get even nuttier if you grind the walnuts for the dough yourself.

Ingredients

Makes 50 cookies

  • 2 ⅓ cups300 gall-purpose flourWheat flour; without a type number German recipes mean Type 405. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • 1 tspbaking powderlevel. German baking powder is sold in 15 g packets, each meant for about 500 g (4 cups) of flour. In the US and the UK use baking powder, 1 tbsp plus ¾ tsp per 15 g packet.
  • 1 cup100 gground walnuts
  • ½ cup plus 2 tbsp125 gsugar
  • 2 tspvanilla sugar1 packet = 2 tsp (8 g). Sugar flavored with real vanilla, sold in small packets of about 8 g. In the US use 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar for each 8 g packet; in the UK, vanilla sugar sachets from the baking aisle, or 1 tsp vanilla extract plus 2 tsp sugar per sachet.
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • 1 stick plus 6 tbsp200 gunsalted buttersoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter (European-style unsalted butter is closest); in the UK, unsalted butter.
  • 1 tbsprum

You'll also need:

  • 4 tbspraspberry jamor red currant fruit jelly or apricot jam. In everyday German any jam is meant, not only citrus marmalade: in the US use jam or preserves (seedless if you want a smooth spread), in the UK jam (seedless if you want a smooth spread). The fruit jelly is a clear, smooth jelly without pieces or seeds: in the US use red currant jelly or another clear fruit jelly (not Jell-O), in the UK redcurrant jelly or another jelly preserve (not jelly dessert).
  • 2 cups250 gsifted powdered sugarVery finely ground sugar for icings and dusting. In the US use powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar); in the UK, icing sugar.
  • 5 tbsplemon juice
  • 50walnut halves

Method

  1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.
  2. Add the remaining dough ingredients and work everything into a dough with the dough hooks of your hand mixer, briefly on the lowest speed, then on the highest.
  3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container and chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
  4. Line two large baking sheets (about 16 × 14 inches / 40 × 35 cm; a US half sheet pan, 18 × 13 inches, works too) with parchment paper.
  5. Preheat the oven.
  6. Conventional (top and bottom heat): about 350°F (180°C)
  7. Convection (fan): about 325°F (160°C)
  8. Briefly knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out in batches to about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick (put the rest of the dough back in the fridge in the meantime) and cut out rounds of about 1 ½ inches (4 cm). Place the rounds on the baking sheet with a little space between them. Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are golden.
  9. Baking time: about 10 minutes
  10. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet set on a wire rack.
  11. Briefly warm the jam or fruit jelly in a small saucepan.
  12. Spread it on the underside of one cookie and place a second cookie on top, underside down. "Glue" all the cookies together this way.
  13. Stir the powdered sugar and lemon juice into a thick glaze and spread it over the cookies. Always press a walnut half onto the glaze right away.