Sandra Walnut semolina cookies in syrup are a Turkish dessert made with ground walnuts, tahini, semolina and butter, baked until golden and soaked in cold lemon sugar syrup. Nutty, crumbly and drenched in sweetness.
The tahini is doing more work than you’d think. It adds a rich, toasty depth that plain butter alone can’t give you. Without it, these taste like a standard semolina biscuit. With it, you get a nuttiness that layers on top of the walnuts and makes the whole cookie taste more complex. Two tablespoons is all it takes.
I use finely ground walnuts, not chopped. Chopped pieces leave gaps in the dough and the cookies crack when you score the tops. Finely ground walnuts mix into the butter and flour evenly, giving you a smooth dough that holds together and breaks apart in a sandy, crumbly way once baked. If your walnuts aren’t fine enough, give them an extra 30 seconds in the food processor.
Walnut Semolina Cookies in Syrup Ingredients
For the Syrup
- 400g (14oz) caster sugar
- 500ml (18fl oz) water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the Cookies
- 125g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 egg
- 50g (2oz) fine semolina
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 100g (4oz) walnuts, finely ground
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 190-250g (7-9oz) plain flour, as needed
How To Make Walnut Semolina Cookies in Syrup
- Make the syrup: Put the sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan over high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Once it starts boiling, reduce to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool completely.
- Mix the dough: Put the softened butter, egg, semolina, baking powder, vinegar, tahini, ground walnuts and desiccated coconut in a large bowl. Mix until everything is well combined. Add the flour gradually until you get a soft dough that doesn’t stick to your hands. Don’t add more flour than you need.
- Shape the cookies: Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each into a slightly oval shape. Place on a lined baking tray with space between each. Score the top of each cookie with a knife, pressing gently to make shallow lines for decoration. Don’t cut too deep or they split during baking.
- Bake: Place in a preheated oven at 185°C (365°F/Gas Mark 5) with top and bottom heat. Bake until the tops and bottoms are properly golden, about 20-25 minutes. They firm up as they cool, so don’t wait for them to feel hard in the oven.
- Soak in syrup: Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for 10 minutes to settle. Pour the cold syrup slowly and evenly over the warm cookies. Leave uncovered for 3-4 hours so the cookies absorb the syrup fully before serving.
Recipe Tips
Grind the walnuts finely. Coarse pieces leave gaps in the dough and cause cracks on the surface when you score the tops. A food processor on pulse for 20-30 seconds gives you the right texture. Stop before it turns to paste.
Soften the butter properly. It should dent easily when pressed but not feel greasy or melted. Cold butter won’t mix with the other ingredients smoothly, and melted butter makes the dough too loose to shape.
Score gently, not deeply. The knife lines on top are for decoration and to help the syrup soak in. If you press too hard, the cookies crack open during baking and lose their shape.
Cold syrup on warm cookies. The same rule as baklava applies here. Cold syrup on warm pastry soaks in evenly without dissolving the structure. Hot syrup on hot cookies turns them to mush.
What To Serve With Walnut Semolina Cookies
A cup of Turkish coffee or strong black tea is all these need. The sweetness of the syrup balances against the bitterness of the coffee.
For a dessert spread, arrange them on a plate alongside other syrup-soaked pastries like baklava or tulumba. They hold up well on a platter for hours without going soft.
How To Store Walnut Semolina Cookies
Fridge
Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days. The syrup keeps them moist and they don’t dry out quickly. Refrigerating firms up the butter and changes the texture, so room temperature is best.
Reheat
Not needed. These are served at room temperature. If they’ve been in the fridge, leave them out for 30 minutes before serving.
Freeze
Freeze before adding syrup. Bake, cool completely, then freeze in a sealed container for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature, warm in the oven at 160°C (325°F/Gas Mark 3) for 5 minutes, then pour cold syrup over and rest for 3-4 hours.
Walnut Semolina Cookies in Syrup Nutrition Facts
Per serving (1 cookie, based on 16): Calories: 265kcal, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Carbohydrates: 37g, Sugar: 22g, Sodium: 40mg. Estimated. May vary based on ingredients and cooking methods.
FAQs
Yes, pecans are sweeter and milder than walnuts. Grind them finely the same way. The flavour will be less earthy but the texture stays the same.
Either the scoring was too deep, the dough was too dry from too much flour, or the walnuts weren’t ground finely enough. Score with a gentle hand and keep the dough soft.
You can, but the cookies will taste flatter. Tahini adds a toasty, nutty depth that lifts the whole biscuit. There’s no direct substitute that gives the same effect.
Walnut Semolina Cookies in Syrup Recipe
Description
Oval walnut and tahini cookies with a semolina crumb, scored on top, baked golden and soaked in cold lemon sugar syrup until soft and saturated.
Ingredients
For the Syrup:
For the Cookies:
Instructions
- Dissolve sugar in water with lemon juice over high heat, boil then simmer on medium for 15 minutes, cool completely.
- Mix softened butter, egg, semolina, baking powder, vinegar, tahini, ground walnuts and coconut in a bowl, add flour gradually until a soft, non-sticky dough forms.
- Divide into 16 pieces, shape into slight ovals, place on a lined tray and score the tops gently with a knife.
- Bake at 185°C (365°F/Gas Mark 5) with top and bottom heat for 20-25 minutes until golden.
- Rest 10 minutes on the tray, pour cold syrup over the warm cookies, leave uncovered 3-4 hours before serving.
