Recipe by: Barbara Martinez
Our Recipe Books features a unique collection of authentic Texas home-cooking recipes straight from the heart of the Homestead Heritage community, where tradition and wholesome ingredients come together to create mouthwatering meals.
Our Recipe Books
•
June 1, 2025
This cookie is a longtime Martinez family favorite! Every year for Christmas, my mother-in-law makes a variation of these cookies, but they are always gone before we arrive. They’re that good! So shortly after my husband and I were married, I worked to find a recipe that I could make during the holidays, to remind him of home. This recipe makes about three dozen small cookies, but fair warning: they disappear quickly, so I highly recommend doubling the batch!
Preheat oven to 350 °F degrees. On a baking sheet, spread the walnuts (4 oz) evenly and toast about 7 minutes, removing the walnuts from the baking sheet into a heatproof bowl or onto another cool baking tray to halt the cooking process.
If you leave the walnuts on the hot baking sheet, they will continue to toast and may burn.
Pulse the toasted walnuts in a food processor until finely ground.
You want the walnuts finely ground but not to the point where they start to get oily as if making nut butter.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325 °F.
Cream the butter (1 stick), sugar (6 Tbsp), and vanilla (1 ½ tsp) in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, making sure to scrape down the sides.
On low speed, add the sifted flouring allowing it to mix until just combined. Scrap the sides of the bowl again and add in the toasted walnuts. Mix until well incorporated.
Turn the dough out onto the table or countertop and gather it, kneading it gently if needed, to form a smooth ball of dough.
Take small pieces of dough and roll each into a ball, approximately one inch in size.
Place the cookie dough balls on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the bottoms start to turn golden. Allow the cookies to cool completely.
Place the sifted powdered sugar in a small bowl. Once the cookies have cooled completely, roll them in the powdered sugar, placing them on a plate or in an airtight container. Prior to serving, sift additional powdered sugar over the cookies.
You can easily swap in pecans for the walnuts—or leave the nuts out entirely if you prefer.
Subscribe to get my new recipes delivered to your inbox
Sign in to comment
