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Home » Recipes » Cookies

Brown Sugar Walnut Biscuits

Modified: Jul 13, 2025 · Published: May 15, 2024 by Claire Cameron · This post may contain affiliate links · 20 Comments

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Brown sugar walnut biscuits are a delicious, simple cookie perfect with a cup of tea.

If you're a love of walnuts you might also enjoy our Maple Glazed Walnuts, Soda Bread With Walnuts, Chocolate Walnut Cookies or our Best Ever Easy Carrot Cake Cupcakes.

Hand holding half a brown sugar walnut biscuit with a tray of cookies cooling in the background.

Hi Claire, I used your recipe and made delicious cookies (biscuits). Just wanted to say thanks and I appreciate your efforts.
- Leo

Quick look at Brown Sugar Walnut Biscuits

  • ⏲️ Ready in 25 minutes.
  • 🛒 Ingredients: Just 8 (probably in your pantry)
  • 🍽️ Makes: 25 cookies.
  • 🧑‍🍳 Difficulty: Easy (kid-friendly).
  • 🗃️ Make ahead: Airtight container 5 days (or freeze for months).

When my husband describes a biscuit as ‘the best biscuit you’ve ever made’ it’s hard to ignore him. He’s rather fussy when it comes to baked goods. 

When he asked met to make a second batch of brown sugar walnut biscuits I told him I couldn’t make the same thing twice or what would I have to blog about? The poor guy.

Why This Recipe Works

  1. Caramel-like flavour - Brown sugar gives these cookies an almost toffee-like flavour and a cake-like middle with crunchy edges.
  2. Texture - A delicious nutty crunch of walnuts in every bite. But not break-your-teeth crunch seeing as walnuts aren't too hard.
  3. Quick & Easy - A great recipe to make with kids or when you need cookies stat. No fancy equipment needed.
Jump to:
  • Quick look at Brown Sugar Walnut Biscuits
  • Why This Recipe Works
  • Recipe Ingredients
  • How to make brown sugar walnut cookies
  • Recipe Tip
  • Recipe FAQs
  • More Brown Sugar Recipes
  • Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

Ingredients for brown sugar walnut biscuits. Bowl of butter, brown sugar, mixed spice, bicarb, flour, walnuts and an egg & bottle of vanilla.

To make walnut cookies you will need just a few simple ingredients. Here are some tips:

  • Butter - while most baking recipes call for unsalted butter, I'm not a stickler for that rule. Just use what you have. Make sure it's the pure stuff wrapped in foil though not out of a tub.
  • Vanilla extract - (I used vanilla bean paste) here's how to make vanilla extract with alcohol & vanilla beans.
  • Brown sugar - we just use regular light brown sugar but you could use a dark brown sugar for a deeper flavour. Did you know you can make brown sugar easily at home. 
  • Walnuts - usually you can get 'walnut pieces' from the supermarket or grocery store for a lot less per kilogram than whole walnuts so look out for the packet. 

How to make brown sugar walnut cookies

Butter, brown sugar in a glass bowl being beaten with a hand held electric mixer. Also shows bowl of walnuts, flour and mixed spice.

Step 1: In the bowl of an electric mixer (or with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter, vanilla, sugar and egg together until smooth and creamy.

A handheld sifter sifting flour, mixed spice and baking soda into a glass bowl.

Step 2: Sift in the flour, soda and mixed spice and beat them through until just combined.

Brown cookie dough topped with chopped walnuts in a glass bowl topped with a wooden spoon on a marble bench top.

Step 3: Add the walnuts and stir them through.

Balls of light brown cookie dough on a baking paper lined oven tray

Step 4: Roll the dough into walnut size balls & bake on a baking paper lined tray at 150C fan-forced for 15-17 mins.

Light brown cookies freshly baked on a brown paper lined oven tray.

Step 5: Leave the baked walnut biscuits to rest on the tray for 5 minutes.

Light brown cookies freshly baked on a cooling rack.

Step 6: Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then store in an airtight container.

Baked cookie on parchment paper.

Recipe Tip

Don't be tempted to chill the dough or dough balls before cooking to try and reduce the spreading. This is what will happen if you try - you'll get a cookie in the middle and an outer border of almost-burnt crust.

These cookies are meant to be quite flat. If you like something chunkier, try our Healthy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies or for something a little more indulgent - Mexican Spiced Chocolate Snickerdoodles.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use pecans instead of walnuts in brown sugar walnut cookies?

Yes you absolutely can use pecans instead of walnuts in brown sugar walnut cookies. In baking, pecans and walnuts can pretty much be used interchangeably to give flavour and a nutty crunch. 

Can I add chocolate chips to brown sugar walnut cookies?

You could add chocolate or white chocolate chips to this recipe when you add the walnuts. 
We'd recommend replacing some of the nuts with the chocolate to keep the add-in to biscuit dough ratio the same.

Brown sugar walnut cookies in a glass cookie jar on a white marble bench top.

More Brown Sugar Recipes

  • Brown sugar pavlova with vanilla yoghurt cream
  • Chewy choc coconut slice
    Simple chocolate coconut slice: Women's Weekly recipe
  • Chocolate fudge icing made with real chocolate
    Best chocolate icing made with real chocolate (simple recipe)
  • Best ever banana bread
    The best ever banana bread

MADE THESE BROWN SUGAR WALNUT COOKIES AND LOVED THEM?  Please leave a ⭐️STAR rating and COMMENT below- I love connecting with you! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Pinterest.


Recipe

Brown sugar walnut biscuits

Brown sugar walnut biscuits

Brown sugar walnut biscuits are a delicious, simple cookie perfect with a cup of tea.
4.38 from 27 votes
Print Pin Rate SaveSaved!
Course: Snacks, desserts & condiments
Cuisine: Snacks and sweets
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 25
Calories: 141kcal
Author: Claire Cameron

Ingredients

  • 200 g 7oz butter
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract I used vanilla bean paste
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ¾ cup plain all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ teaspoon ground mixed spice
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 150C fan-forced and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, vanilla, sugar and egg together until smooth and creamy.
  • Sift in the flour, soda and mixed spice and beat them through until just combined then add the walnuts and stir until incorporated.
  • Using a level tablespoon of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and place on the lined trays leaving at least 3 cm between each one.
  • Bake biscuits for 15 minutes and then leave to cool on the trays.
  • Store in an airtight container when cool.

Notes

Note: Don't chill the dough. These are meant to be flat cookies. If you chill it you'll get a big fat part in the middle and very very thin almost-burnt edges. 
Variations: You can use pecans instead of walnuts. 
Tip: Look for walnut pieces at your grocery store. They're often a lot less expensive per kilo than whole walnuts and you want them chopped anyway. 

Nutrition

Calories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
Have you made this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think. Tag me on Instagram @clairekcreations


 

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Comments

  1. Claire Cameron says

    July 11, 2025 at 11:43 pm

    5 stars
    'The best biscuits ever' as judged by my husband.

    Reply
  2. Liz says

    May 03, 2017 at 8:46 pm

    Hi Claire,
    Well have made your biscuits 3 or 4 times in the last couple of weeks.
    But have changed the flours. Use spelt, 1 1/2 cups, & 1/4 cup of coconut
    flour. Plus added nutmeg, & cinnamon with the mixed spice. Yum.
    Can't have wheat so I substitute with spelt a lot, 1st time I've used the
    coconut flour though but it seems to work ok.
    Added cocoa today as well as the spices. Even more yum
    Thanks for a great easy recipe.

    Reply
    • Claire says

      May 18, 2017 at 9:19 pm

      Yum yum yum! Great ideas Liz I'll have to try your version. You're very welcome.

  3. Leo says

    January 04, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    Hi Claire, I used your recipe and made delicious cookies (biscuits). Just wanted to say thanks and I appreciate your efforts.

    Reply
    • Claire says

      January 11, 2015 at 9:10 pm

      Thanks so much Leo. I love hearing when people try my recipes!

  4. My Kitchen Stories says

    July 08, 2013 at 6:01 pm

    Lovely bikkies Claire. I want to make them ....1.5 boxes left... thats great

    Reply
  5. Shirley from Rhubarb Whine says

    July 08, 2013 at 10:09 am

    Hi Claire, hope you are settling in. Look forward to hearing how you settle in to your new kitchen. It's always fun to sort out a new oven :)

    Reply
    • Claire says

      July 08, 2013 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks Shirley!

  6. The Café Sucre Farine says

    July 07, 2013 at 11:34 pm

    Haha Claire, my family asks me to make something again and I always tell them I can't go backwards. This weekend, I made doughnuts, not the old family favorite, but a new, interesting recipe. They didn't really like them and Lindsay said "if it's not broken, don't fix it". I cracked up! These cookies look fantastic, poor Will will probably never see them again in his life!

    Reply
    • Claire says

      July 08, 2013 at 10:05 am

      Haha our poor families! He actually requested them again yesterday the poor boy!

  7. Stephanie @ henry happened says

    July 07, 2013 at 6:31 am

    Oh, those sounds yummy! So are these cookies? Do you call cookies biscuits? Good luck with the last few boxes - for some reason those are the hardest!

    Reply
    • Claire says

      July 07, 2013 at 4:58 pm

      Haha yep our biscuits are your cookies. Your biscuits are a little like savoury scones to us. I got through the boxes this weekend!!!

  8. Lisa the Gourmet Wog says

    July 07, 2013 at 12:40 am

    emptying boxes onto the floor counts ;)
    These look awesome Claire! I too am drawn to brown sugar recipes, especially when they're spiced. Yum

    Reply
    • Claire says

      July 07, 2013 at 4:59 pm

      I finally managed to move the stuff from the floor to the cupboard so we are nearly unpacked!

  9. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says

    July 05, 2013 at 11:35 pm

    Moving is the worst job ever. We still have a whole roomful of stuff that doesn't fit in our house. One day...

    I love your biscuits, although they'd have to be cookies at my house :)

    Reply
    • Claire says

      July 07, 2013 at 5:02 pm

      Yes cookies in the Orgasmic Chef house!

  10. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says

    July 05, 2013 at 8:10 pm

    Hehe I think Will could have some interesting conversations with my husband! He just wants to go to the same Shanghai dumpling place but I can't do it! There are so many places to eat at! These look lovely and I "oohed" as soon as I saw the name!

    Reply
    • Claire says

      July 07, 2013 at 5:02 pm

      Oh they'd get on great! They both share the same lack of sweet tooth.

  11. The Life of Clare says

    July 05, 2013 at 2:43 pm

    Oh how I hate moving house! I also tend to unpack onto the floor, where it gathers dust until the right place arises. These biscuits look wonderful!

    Reply
    • Claire says

      July 05, 2013 at 5:43 pm

      Glad I'm not the only one Clare!

4.38 from 27 votes (26 ratings without comment)

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Claire headshot - Claire from Claire K Creations. 38 year old woman with short blonde hair holding a tea cup standing in a kitchen

Hi I'm Claire!

I make cooking & baking for your family simple & delicious.

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