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Honey Walnut Cookies

Honey Walnut Cookies
Honey is a sweetener that isn’t used all that much in cookie recipes. You can’t really cream it with butter to create a fluffy base for cookie dough (although honey whipped with butter makes an amazing spread for biscuits), so you can’t simply substitute it for sugar and expect to get the same results. Used properly, honey can be a great sweetener in cookies – and other baked goods – because it lends a rich and complex flavor to the finished product, helps with browning and also keeps baked goods moist so that they stay fresher longer.

These Honey Walnut Cookies are a very simple recipe that is a twist on an eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’ve made many times. They use honey as a sweetener and vegetable oil where regular cookies usually call for butter, and like the recipe that inspired them, they are egg free. The dough can be mixed up in just one bowl and doesn’t require anything more than a spoon to bring it together. The recipe makes a small batch, but can be doubled if you want more than a dozen.

Because the honey adds so much moisture to the cookies, they don’t get crisp around the edges after baking. Instead, the cookies have a beautiful golden color and a slightly soft, chewy texture when they come out of the oven. The honey is very fragrant and gives the cookies wonderful flavor that reminds me both of nougat and baklava. The walnuts add some much needed crunchiness and their buttery flavor brings out the richness of the honey even more. Don’t overbake these, or they’ll dry out a little.

Honey Walnut Cookies
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar (pref. light)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
In a small bowl, whisk together oil, honey and vanilla extract. Pour into flour mixture and stir until almost combined. Add the walnuts and stir until walnuts are well distributed in the cookie dough.
Shape into 12 rounded balls (approx 1-inch balls) and place onto prepared baking sheet. It is easiest to shape this dough with your hands or with a small scoop.
Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.
Cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes one dozen cookies.

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28 Comments
  • Blog is the New Black
    September 29, 2011

    THese sound delicious- so unique!

  • Natalie
    September 29, 2011

    These sound so simple and delicious. I can’t wait to try them.

  • Holiday Bakerman
    September 30, 2011

    These look great. An instant classic!

  • Erin
    September 30, 2011

    I’ve always wanted to bake with honey. My aunt actually owns her own business making all kinds of honey, so I have a huge stash of several kinds of honey to play with. I’ll have to try them in this recipe.

  • Erica
    October 2, 2011

    I so wanted to like these. Made them and they just weren’t to my taste at all. Husband loved them, tho.

  • Kristin
    October 28, 2011

    This looked like such an easy and delicious recipe and turned out completely exceeding my expectations! The cookies took only 15 minutes to make including baking time and were so sweet and wonderful. An amazing recipe– will definitely share and make again!

  • greg schufman
    January 29, 2012

    I like the fact that there are no eggs, butter or margarine in these cookies. I recommend doubling the batch because the first dozen are gone after cooled.

  • Hui
    March 14, 2012

    best cookies ever! love them! thank you for sharing the recipe. My husband and kids love cookies and I love baking. I’m always looking for healthier recipes.

  • Ashley
    September 4, 2012

    Just made these. So simple and so rich and delicious. The honey makes it dense and chewy! Thanks! I will make these again.

  • Dawnelle
    December 11, 2012

    I made these with maple honey instead of regular and pecans (because that’s what I had) and they turned out really well. I’ll make them again with the proper ingredients.

  • beatrize
    December 20, 2012

    i made these without honey and they turned out really good

  • jennifer
    January 3, 2013

    I made these cookies for a boy at my church who has milk egg and peanut alergys. Poor kid can’t eat what’s made most of the time for after church fellowship. He loved them! as soon as I gave him the tub of cookies there was no stopping him! Then for a potluck I thought I have all this left over stuff for these cookies I will make them again. People could not get enough of them! I did have a slight problem the honey, oil, and vanilla would not mix together. And I didn’t have parchment paper so mine didn’t spread out. Also I drizzled honey over the top of the cookies before they cooled the added touch made them so good. Also any tips on getting the honey to pour?

  • Kylie
    January 6, 2013

    I used mashed banana instead of oil and they turned out perfect. Great recipe, thanks 🙂

  • Charra
    January 19, 2013

    I just made these wonderful cookies–added 1/2 tsp each of ginger and cinnamon and used gluten-free flour. Thanks for this. Fast, tasty, and relatively healthy. Cheers.

  • Kat
    January 30, 2013

    Absolutely perfect and I love that there’s no butter in it! 🙂 I also made a batch with hazelnuts.

    @Jennifer I usually just stick the honey bottle in a mug of warm water for a few minutes and turn it upside down in the water while i measure out everything else first.

  • Maggy
    May 5, 2013

    I’m not a fan, they’re too salty for my taste, maybe too much baking soda, I’m not sure, at least is a small batch, so I don’t feel too bad for tossing them.

  • Melanie
    June 1, 2013

    Loved making these! After tasting the honey/vanilla/sugar, my son said it tasted like macadamia nuts, so we threw some of those in with the walnuts. So tasty! Thanks for the recipe!

  • Claremanson
    November 3, 2013

    These taste amazing! Had to make a few changes such as making them gluten free. I took a photo too http://claremanson.deviantart.com/art/Honey-Walnut-Cookies-411266022

  • Mona
    January 19, 2014

    Omg!!! DELICIOUS!!!!

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