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Grandma’s nut horns recipe aka rosky makes buttery crescent-shaped cookies filled with ground walnuts and topped with powdered sugar. These Slovak/Polish Christmas cookies are easy to make and perfect for holiday cookie trays.
Growing up, my Polish grandma would make these nut horn cookies every Christmas. They’re soft, buttery rolled cookies with a sweet walnut filling and a dusting of powdered sugar for a little extra sweetness.
She called these crescent cookies Rosky or roshky, but you may know them as Kifli or Kolache or Kolacky, or even butterhorn cookies, depending on what part of Eastern Europe your family comes from. These are one of my favorite Polish Christmas cookies, and my kids love them as much as I do!
Why you’ll love this family favorite cookie recipe!
Rosky are soft, tender cookies that aren’t as sweet as many of the treats you’ll find during the holiday season.
The dough is uncomplicated and easy to work with and requires just a short time to chill before rolling.
We love to nibble on nut horns with a cup of coffee or tea or even eggnog! Santa loves them, too!
What you Need
Here’s a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need. Full amounts are listed in the printable recipe card below.
- Egg yolks — Use the egg whites to make these surprise cookies.
- Butter — for the filling and the dough. I use salted butter, but unsalted butter is fine. Let it soften at room temperature for a bit for easier mixing
- Sugar — granulated sugar for the dough and filling and powdered for the finish
- Sour cream
- Flour — all purpose
- Yeast — I’ve only used active dry yeast
- Walnuts — grind them in a food processor or blender
- Milk
- Ground cinnamon — for the nut filling
How to Make Nut Horns
First, you’ll cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. You can use an electric mixer or stand mixer. Then, mix in the egg yolks, sour cream and yeast. Gradually add the flour until a soft dough forms. If you’re not using a stand mixer, you may need to use a spatula, spoon or your hands at this point. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Mix the filling ingredients while you wait.
Next, pinch off walnut-sized balls of dough. Use a rolling pin to roll thin circles, 3-4 inches in diameter. Spread a tablespoon of filling mixture on the dough, and roll up to form a log. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil, and form into a crescent. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool, then dust with powdered sugar. You can add more sugar if you want a sweeter cookie.
Quick Tips
If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
Roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick. If the dough gets too soft, you can pop it back into the fridge for a few minutes.
Nut horns take about 20-25 minutes to bake, but every oven is different. Watch the first batch of cookies when baking. If they start to get too brown, Don’t bake the second batch as long.
Storage and Freezing
Store nut horns in an airtight container at room temperature. They stay fresh for about 1 week. You can freeze both the unbaked cookies and the baked cookies for up to 3 months and add the powdered sugar when they thaw.
More Old World Christmas Cookie Recipes
Try my angel wings (cheregi) and pizzelle or these cute gingerbread men next. You may also like this walnut roll, which is very similar to the cookies!
Grandma’s Nut Horns (Rosky)
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Filling
- 2 cups ground walnuts
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. You can use a stand mixer, as well
- Add the egg yolks and sour cream, and mix until blended
- Add the yeast, and gradually mix in the flour until a soft dough forms
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Prepare filling
- Preheat oven to 350℉
- Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into balls
- Roll dough into 4 inch circles about ⅙ inch thick
- Spread a scant tablespoon of filling over each circle of dough
- Roll dough over filling to form small logs
- Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, seam side down, and form into crescent shape
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown
- Allow to cool on wire rack, and dust with powdered sugar
Filling
- Add the ground walnuts, milk, butter, sugar and cinnamon to a mixing bowl, and mix until combined
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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