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Walnut cookies - "Hup Toh Soh" is a Chinese cookie made of walnut which is crispy & crumbly. Easy walnut cookies recipe, great for Chinese New Year!
I am so glad that my contributor Siew Loon is back from her long hiatus on Rasa Malaysia. Siew Loon is a great friend and she is such a wonderful baker, especially Chinese New Year cookies.
I remember a few years ago, she brought me a bottle of her homemade pineapple tarts when we met up for Chinese New Year.
Anyway, today, she is sharing with us the recipe of Chinese walnut cookies.
Enjoy!
Happy New Year to all Rasa Malaysia readers.
When I was browsing through the various blogs for cookies to bake for the Lunar New Year, this recipe of walnut cookies from Nasi Lemak Lover instantly caught my eyes.
It reminds me of my childhood days where we would go to the market to buy these cookies and eat them with a cup of coffee.
After reading her blog post, I realized that most walnut cookies do not have walnuts in it.
But I have edited the recipe a bit and added ground walnuts and shortening into it as I simply love nuts.
The end result is these absolutely delicious walnut cookies topped with walnut pieces that are buttery, crumbly, and nutty.
They are great for the upcoming Lunar New Year, when friends and family gather together and some cookies to enjoy during the festivities.
They are also very easy to make and you don’t need a mixer because you can mix everything with hands.
To those celebrating Lunar New Year, happy year of horse to you all.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 174 calories per serving.
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Walnut Cookies
Ingredients
- 9 oz (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 oz (60g) ground walnuts
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 oz (125g) granulated sugar
- 1 oz (30g) butter
- 1/2 teaspoon alkaline water
- 5 oz (150g) peanut oil , or cooking oil
- 2 oz (60g) walnut halves
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp oil
Instructions
- Mix the flour, baking powder, ground walnuts, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Rub in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the alkaline water and peanut oil, then mix until the dough forms and becomes soft.
- Divide the dough into 20g (1 oz.) portions and flatten each slightly with a fork. Top each piece with half a walnut and brush the tops with egg wash.
- Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 30 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
May I know if caster sugar can be used in this recipe? Thanks!
Sure you can.
I have just baked it and it is fine. It should be soft and a bit difficult to shape. But it will harden after cooling it down. you can reduce the oil by 20g if still too soft or add more walnuts.
I agreed with Eric, 150g is a lot for 250g! I reduced to just 140g but it’s still very runny and not easy to shape. Another thing to point out also if to divide 20g each, don’t think the recipe able to get 40 cookies, Probably 15g will give you 40 cookies. BY have you try this recipe before or if you can ask the contributor the amount of oil is correct? Thanks.
Please advise:
Walnut cookies – the mixture seems very soft (or rather say runny dough) not really become a soft dough as i can’t even shape it. Just wondering if the measuremet for the peanut oil (150g) is correct or is it only needs 50g ?
Thanks.
Where can you get or buy alkaline water if you cannot make it.
You can buy alkaline water or lye water at Chinese supermarkets.
I do not have a p/W, but every time i try to log in, it states My user name and e-mail address are not registered. Please could you fix this for me? I need a P/W. Thanks.
Just curious to what does the alkaline water do? Can it be substituted or omitted? I personally do not like the taste of it and it is also difficult to find. This recipe is very similar to the almond cookies from the Chinese restaurant k worked at 30 years ago.
It gives the cookies the texture and special taste. If you omit it, the walnut cookies will become like regular cookies. Lye water is what makes them a “Chinese-style” cookie.
what type of butter that we need to use? salted or unsalted and do we hv to soften the butter first?
Any butter is fine but I like salted ones
Bee, I love walnut cookies. Do you have a conversion chart for the measurements? Thank you for the nice recipe.
Here you go but following the metric measurement will be the best.
When do you use alkaline water? It is not mentioned in he procedure section but is listed in the ingredient section though.
I am not really good at cooking and baking but I try. I also like easy recipes. Forgive my ignorance, but what is alkaline water? Is it possible to make it?
Alkaline water is lye water, it gives the cookies that special texture and taste.
You can just add the alkaline water before adding the oil