Nut Rolls
104 comments » 
I am a few weeks behind on the nut roll extravaganza that is usually reserved for the holidays, but as I mentioned a couple of days ago, the holidays just totally got away from me. I did a ton of baking for the week and a half leading up to Christmas, and a lot of cooking for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then I hit a wall. A massive brick wall. I had already ground all 3 pounds of the nuts needed for this recipe and had them in the refrigerator, but I just couldn’t do it. I needed some time off from the kitchen and to give myself a little vacation and time to recharge my kitchen batteries. Now that I’m back at it, I was determined to use those ground nuts and churn out nut roll! Besides, there’s never a bad time for nut roll, right?
This recipe is my mom’s best friend’s and my mom claims that she makes the best nut roll ever. Naturally, I had no choice but to give it a go. Now be prepared. This recipe makes 8, count ‘em, 8 nut rolls. There are a lot of ingredients. There is cake yeast. I didn’t have it in me to start to figure out how this recipe could be scaled back. I went all-out. Nut rolls can be frozen really well, so problem solved. And really, once the ingredients are mixed, it’s not all that taxing to get them all rolled and baked. I would estimate that start to finish, these took me about 6 hours to complete. That includes 3 hours of inactive rise time, and an hour and 20 minutes of total baking time. I have included step-by-step photos in the recipe below to help guide you through each phase of preparation and baking.
I believe that my mom’s claim definitely held up. These are spectacular nut rolls. I had a nut roll over the holidays that was way too doughy and dry. The dough for this recipe is very, very soft, and the filling is quite moist. The filling-to-dough ratio is also very high, which keeps everything from drying out and packs a ton of flavor into even the smallest of slices. This is now my official go-to nut roll recipe, which I will churn out for the holidays from here on out!
One year ago: Cannoli
Three years ago: Banana Muffins
Nut Roll Recipe
Yield: 8 nut rolls
Prep Time: 1½ hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes (per pan)
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
2 oz. cake yeast
¼ cup warm water
6 eggs
16 ounces sour cream
16 ounces (2 cups) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
10 cups all-purpose flourFor the Filling:
3 pounds ground walnuts
3 cups granulated sugar
6 ounces (¾ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup evaporated milk
½ cup whole milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extractDirections:
1. Soften the yeast by placing it in the warm water and letting it sit for about 5 minutes.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until combined, about a minute. Add the sour cream, melted butter, sugar, vanilla, salt and the softened yeast. Mix on medium speed until smooth and well-combined, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour a little at a time until it is all incorporated, and continue to mix until the dough does not stick and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
3. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the filling, stirring well to ensure that it is completely mixed and all of the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Divide the dough into eight pieces.
On a very well-floured surface and one at a time, roll each piece out into a rectangle roughly 9x-14 inches. Spread the filling to within about an inch of the edges. With the long side in front of you, roll up tightly and pinch the seams shut.
Place on baking sheets that are lined with parchment paper or that have been greased (2 rolls per sheet). Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Repeat with all eight pieces of dough. Let raise for 3 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake one pan at a time for 20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap. To Freeze: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then in foil.
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Love how these look like calzones!
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Looks delish!! Another one to add to my recipe to do list! Thanks for the step by step!
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These look kind of like baklava! My, my, these sound tasty.
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They look delicious! I love when you have recipes that come from your grandmother, mom or in this recipe your mom’s friend. I am definitely going to make these but not until this weekend as it looks like they take a bit of time. I had made your pillow cookies a couple of times and my sister made them for the first time this Christmas. Everybody raved about them. Told her to get on your blog….there are lots of great recipes. Thanks!
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Yum! These look delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever had nut rolls before. Can’t wait to make these.
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I’ve never had nut rolls before, but they look very good!
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So lovely.
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Oh my goodness, these look so delicious! I love a good nut roll!
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I’ve never had a nut roll before and these look delicious! I can’t imagine making 8 at a time though; maybe you could send me one
?
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Nut roll? where have they been all my life???
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These look wonderful, I’ll have to try them. Looks like I’m not the only one who’s never heard of a Nut Roll before. Maybe it’s a regional thing? Maybe Italian? Either way, I’ve never come across these on any holiday tables before. Any thoughts on where they come from? Also, I have to confess, when I saw the title Nut Roll and hadn’t seen the photo yet, I expected to see something more like a PayDay candy bar!
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Darlene on November 22nd, 2012 at 10:21 am
It is an eastern European thing. I grew up in a Hungarian/Slovak household and Christmas was not Christmas without nut roll. We used the words kolache and nut roll interchangeably but since then I have found out most people think kolaches are the cookies. They are made similarly but there is nothing like the rolls coming out of the oven warm, nut filling mushy and thin flaky crust. This is the thing about nut roll. It is also good sitting on the counter, cold from the refrigerator, any time of day or night. Not too sweet but sweet enough. Thank you for this. I am trying this recipe. I misplaced my aunts’ recipe. They have passed away.
I used to give these as gifts at Christmas. I never found one person who did not like nut roll. I cannot wait to see how these are. My aunt always used the egg yolks in the dough and the egg whites in the filling. No milk was used in her recipe in the filling. Just egg whites, nuts and powdered sugar.
Merry Christmas
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joyce on January 3rd, 2013 at 12:46 am
I am Slovak too, & we had a similar nutroll (my grandma also added golden raisins, & put powdered sugar on top after they cooled). Kolaches are the little cookies that are folded with a prune or apricot filling.
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These are a masterpiece!
I just LOVE your blog!
Thanks for being such a tremendous resource!
Happy New Year!
xoxoxox
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This reminds me of slovenian patiza bread! My grandma has never had a recipe for it, and she changes it all the time. But now the slovenian in me needs to make some patiza. I will have to call my grandma! Maybe I will make this as well to compare!
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Looks great!
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Looks delicious! Eight rolls? I think my New Year’s resolution to diet will have to be put on hold
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How is it that I`ve never heard of a nut roll? Crazy…these look amazing! And since you have 8, you can send one up here, right? Theresa
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these look great…i love recipes that come from family & friends…ok…so i need to bake these babies!
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This reminds me of poteca, although this recipe is much easier than the one I have. I’m going to try it! Thank-you!
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YUM! I love nut rolls! They do take up a whole day to make, but they are worth it. I like the fact that you can freeze the rolls and pop ‘em out whenever you need them.
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Never had a nut roll, but I am sure I would like it:)
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Good for you for taking some time off over the holidays – we all need a little break sometimes. These nut rolls sounds wonderful and I love the promise of a moist filling.
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Oh, my, gosh. I ADORE nut rolls (or as my husband’s Polish family calls them — Kolachi). Every year, we have a huge nut-roll-making party in December. I will definitely be trying out this recipe since I’m always looking for ways to make improvements to recipes that I know and love.
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Looks like your break was well deserved and your comeback is top-notch
Never had these before but look delicious. I have hard time finding fresh yeast, if I use active dry, then I use less, right?
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Michelle on January 13th, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Hi Ilke, here is a yeast conversion chart that should help!
http://redstaryeast.com/lessons/yeast_conversion_table/
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Wow…I haven’t seen anybody but my mom and grandma make these nut rolls. They’re Czech/Hungarian and would make them every Christmas (along with a poppyseed filling version). The key to the soft dough is the sour cream, which that part of Europe is infamous for using in a lot of their baking (and even savory sauces). I loved eating these as a child, but have never tried making them as an adult. Thanks for sharing the recipe and rekindling some very fond holiday baking memories!
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So excited to see these and have directions! I’ve been eating these my entire life as my Croatian mom makes them for the big holidays. Definitely a European traditional treat. All my mom and her friends either have the recipes in their heads or written in another language, so thanks for sharing this with us. Love your site. You have inspired me to start my own, which I did for the new year. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
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I can’t believe that when you got back from taking a break from the kitchen you take on such a task as a 6 hour project!! You go girl!! You got right back in there like a champ!! You just motivated me! I too hit a wall after the holidays, wherein I was asked to make 6 different cheesecakes, one of which was peanut-butter fudge (only the best) But now I feel empowered again! Thanks!
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My Mom always made these and her recipe came from a friend of Eastern European descent. As Mom got older she began making them at Easter instead of Christmas.
Christmas was full of treats and this is fantastic at Easter morning breakfast! Some people also use a poppy seed filling and top the rolls with a powdered sugar icing.
These rolls are good memories, maybe I’ll make them some day. Thank you
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They look delicious! Perfect with a cup of tea in the afternoon.
I’ve given you an award, please visit my blog for details.
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I’ve never had a nut roll! But this looks AMAZING!
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I’ve never seen/heard/tasted nut roll but it sure looks fabulous. What’s not to like about nuts anyway? By the way, your recipe card is super cute.
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I grew up on nut roll and poppyseed roll from my wonderful Czech Nana! I was thinking of sending you the recipe; so what a wonderful surprise to see on my email that you made some! They look great, too. Question: how do you roll out the dough in such a perfect rectangle?
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Michelle on January 13th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Hi Jill, I have no secret, I just try to roll it in alternating directions until I get it around the right size. I wish I could be even more exact!
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These look exactly like the Hungarian beigli my mother-in-law makes. Do you know the ethnic origin of the recipe?
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Michelle on January 13th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Hi Erika, I don’t know the origin of this particular recipe, but nut rolls are generally a European pastry (more eastern European I believe).
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This just looks way too good! I think I would have to halve it, I don’t know is too much! but still, nut rolls are of my favorite things ever to eat!
-Amalia http://buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com
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Wow, this looks wonderful! I doubt I can make it myself, so looks like I’ll be begging my wife to see if she can create this.
Thanks for sharing.
John McConnell
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In Hungary, we have a very similar traditional christmas dessert. We call : BEJGLI, and filled with nuts, and poppyseeds also.
Here are my rolls, from 2010 christmas.
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/view/101223/IMG_2276_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg
In hungary, there is no christmas without these rolls
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This is mostly definitely a Hungarian recipe — Kolach.
Great post!
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Penny Wolf on January 12th, 2011 at 7:38 am
That’s what we called it too!
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This looks like potica – my great grandparents were from Czechoslovakia. This is one of the recipes I remember eating every year around Christmas. I actually tried making this once – didn’t turn out too well. But I am willing to try again! Thanks for sharing.
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Mmmmmm….love nut roll!! Yours looks so moist and flavorful. And I definitely here you on holiday kitchen fatigue – this is an intense recipe to come back to. Kudos!
Go Steelers!!
)
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Michelle on January 13th, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Yes, GO STEELERS!
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These nut rolls look wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.
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I couldn’t look at these too long for fear that I would make them!
Jason
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Those look delicious-does the dough need to rise before you fill them?
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i just re-read the recipe and see where it rises.
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Jane on December 16th, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Other dough I have made requires 2 rising times. Just to make sure, this requires only 1 after they are rolled. Thankyou
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Michelle on December 17th, 2012 at 10:38 am
Hi Jane, Yes, only 1 raise.
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Those look delicious, though I’d probably divide by like 8 before making! I wish I had some though
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This looks amazing. Can this recipe be halved? Has it been attempted ?
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Michelle on December 7th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Hi Tina, I have not attempted halving the recipe, but I imagine that it could be done.
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Tina on December 15th, 2011 at 8:52 am
I did halve the recipe! It came out amazing!
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This looks like the Kolachi my mom made. Since her death, I have tried unsucessfully to make them like she did. I have been searching for nut rolls that look like yours! Your recipe is very similar but my mom’s calls for the dough to rise, then punch down and roll out into rectangles and then fill and bake. Everytime I tried them, the roll would bust open in places and the filling would ooze out. NOT at all like my moms. I would like to try these but wanted to double check on the timing of the dough rising. I hope your recipe is the answer I have been looking for. thank you
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Michelle on December 8th, 2011 at 11:32 am
Hi Cindy, Yes, the recipe as written above is how I make them! Good luck!
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I have these in the oven now and they are seriously incredible, I think even better than my Hungarian grandmothers! However, my filling did spill out of the sides of each one I have baked so far. I am trying to figure out what went wrong, I am wondering if I rolled the dough too thin or over stuffed? Thanks as always!
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Michelle on December 12th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Hi Emily, That happens to me sometimes too, I think probably from overfilling. But eating the spillover is one of my favorite parts of baking them
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Hi! We grew up having these fresh Christmas morning. I don’t see a “resting time” for the dough in your step by step directions. The recipe I use calls for leaving it in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight. This helps break up the baking marathon.
I also wanted to let you know that I have used fruit filling – my favorite is shredded apples with crushed walnuts. But I have also done peaches with pecans, pumpkin with walnuts and cranberry with mixed nut fillings. Depending on the density of your filling, you may need to make the dough a little thicker when rolling it out.
Thanks for posting this – it was just what I needed to get me making them again!
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Hi, can you please tell me if you used an egg wash or melted butter on the rolls before putting them I. The oven? They look and sound great and would like to try them for the holidays this year.
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Michelle on November 13th, 2012 at 1:44 pm
Hi Dorren, I didn’t use an egg wash or melted butter on these. Enjoy the rolls!
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I’m so happy to have found this recipe! When I was growing up, the ladies of our church made nut rolls for the Christmas bazaar every year and they were amazing! This looks and sounds just like them. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
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I just want to say thank you again. I made these over Thanksgiving this year and this dough is amazing. My aunt never used sour cream in her recipe. They used to use milk. I tried this recipe and just substituted greek yogurt for the sour cream and the dough was perfect. Thank you. This brought back so many memories because I had lost my aunt’s recipe. This is great nut roll or kolache as we called it…Merry Christmas to all.
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Michelle on November 27th, 2012 at 12:03 am
Hi Darlene, I’m so glad you enjoyed these nut rolls. They’ve always been a staple for our family at the holidays, and I’m glad yours are enjoying them now, as well! Merry Christmas to you!
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My aunt made these every year and sent them to my father-in-law, where we enjoyed them year after year. My FIL passed away 9 years now and we haven’t had them. Thank you so much for sharing! It has brought back many great memories.
I halved the recipe and it was perfect! Thank you again!
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Hi. First of all these are fabulous. I have made them 3 times in the last year. So what I’ve always wondered was….how long can they stay froZen for? How do I defrost them your way? I have a way that has been working but I wanted ur version cuz it’s probably better then mine. Thanx and Happy Holidays.
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Michelle on December 2nd, 2012 at 11:09 am
Hi Shannon, We usually just take them out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator. I’m glad you’re enjoying the nut rolls!
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Would like cheese verson of the nut roll. I think it was cottage cheese,
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after filling the nut rolls, all i have to do is put plastic wrap on the cookie sheet. barb
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do i just put the plastic wrap on the cookie sheets to make the rolls to raise.
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do i have to put the plastic wrap on the cookie sheets to let the dough raise. bar
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Michelle on December 4th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Hi Barb, You place the assembled nut rolls on a baking sheet, then cover them loosely with plastic wrap, and let them raise.
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This is the recipe I plan to use and share with family and friends, and kudos going to the BEB!! Follow the recipe to at “T” and the process is flawless. I will continue to practice with the rolling of the dough to find the thickness of the dough that works best. Other than that, a hit with picky eaters in my home. **I did add about 1/3 cup honey for extra sweetness, which was a plus. Just be mindful if you add the honey, spread the filling with care as you do not want to tear the dough.
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How big is your stand mixer, to accommodate this large batch of dough? Have you ever tried it with a hand mixer? (a scaled down version, I mean)
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Michelle on December 14th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Hi Kassidee, I have a 6-quart stand mixer. I have not made it with a hand mixer; if you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes!
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Kassidee on December 14th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
ALright. I already made it and YUM! BUt it did split a lot while rising and the dough is more “biscuit-ey” than “bread-ey.” Do you knead the dough very long? I didn’t. I just mixed it until it came together and pulled away from the sides, let it rest while I got the filling together and rolled it. It wasn’t very stretchy like my bread dough is, but I thought it was just because the dough was so soft and buttery. ANy suggestions?
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Michelle on December 14th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Hi Kassidee, The dough is, indeed, very soft and easy to work with, but it really shouldn’t have the consistency of a biscuit. Did you allow them to raise? I’m wondering if perhaps they didn’t get puffy enough.
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Kasey on December 16th, 2012 at 8:58 am
I had the same problem. The dough raised (in fact, my loaves “grew” together), but the dough split while rising, & it didn’t bake to a nice brown like what is shown in the pictures. The filling is FANTASTIC, though!
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These are absolutely FANTASTIC and easy to make. Once you get started, you are done in no time. Dough is VERY easy to work with. I used the cake yeast and they did rise beautifully! You can use 3 packets of dry yeast in its place if you can’t find cake yeast in the egg section of the grocery store.
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These nuts rolls look amazing. But, I do have a question on the filling. Did I scald the eggs and sugar with the milk?
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Michelle on December 15th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Hi Rhonda, No, you just mix all of the ingredients together.
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I cannot thank you enough for this recipe! This is the recipe that my mother always used. I used to make it every Christmas. I lost it a few years back, and since my mother is deceased, I could not get it from her. No one else in my family had it. I kept trying different recipes, but none of them were the same. I recognized this one immediately! It was a huge recipe, and it had sour cream in the dough. Thanks again!
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Michelle on December 15th, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Aw, this makes me so happy to hear, Karen! I’m so sorry you lost your mom, but I hope these nut roll bring back some wonderful memories
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I want to try a nutroll this Christmas and your recipe sounds awesome. One question: do you roll the nutroll before rising or do they rise flat?
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Michelle on December 15th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Hi Amy, You fill and roll them, then let them raise.
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Thank you for this lovely recipe. I will try it this weekend. The version I have is very similar and was passed down to me from my husbands grandmother. They are Italian and I know these as Italian nut rolls. All of the family look forward to them around the holidays-not just Christmas but Easter, too!
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Where did you find cake yeast? I have not been able to find it, so for years I have been using packaged yeast and hoping I have used the right amount in all my Aunt old recipes.
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Michelle on December 18th, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Hi Mary Ross, I find it in the dairy aisle, actually. Usually up on a top shelf.
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Made the rolls yesterday. THE BEST I EVER HAD!! A few questions. I used 3 dry yeast (fresh not available in our area) I made 2 nut and apricot, lequoir etc. My question, after 1 hr. they rose beautiful and then spread out in the pan. Also, 20 min wasn’t enough time to bake, they looked raw inside. So I did up to 30-35min. Now they seem dry. Would the nut take longer than 20 min or was the yeast wrong. Even our local bakeries used dry yeast. The net sells in bulk. Help I am so glad to find this recipe. My Hungarian mother never used a recipe, so I could never make decent tasting rolls. Thankyou soo much for your help.
Merry Christmas
Jane
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Michelle on December 19th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Hi Jane, I have not made these with dry yeast, only the cake, so that could definitely have something to do with it. The inside should be nice and moist.
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Sorry to be a pest. Do you think using a convection could have an affect on the turnout. I always use the convection option on my new range on everything. Could this affect the results? Thank you. Jae
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Michelle on December 19th, 2012 at 10:42 am
Hi Jane, Not a pest at all! But the convection oven could definitely be the culprit. I just have a regular conventional oven, so all of the recipes here are written for a conventional oven. If you try them again, use the regular setting and see if that doesn’t help.
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Hi Michelle, Sounds like we grew up in the same kind of house hold, mine was Slovak and Polish. Sure was nice finding your web site, did you also have Pirohy and Cold Dough cookies at XMass?
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Michelle on December 19th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Hi Mary, We didn’t have Pirohy or Cold Dough cookies, but they both sound interesting! Do you have recipes?
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My husband’s Italian grandmother (now deceased) used to make nut rolls and poppy seed rolls all the time. She never used a recipe! She always used a wine glass as her measuring cup LOL. We all loved the rolls and I have been trying to find a suitable recipe for years. I will try your recipe, it looks like a great one. Would LOVE to have a recipe for the poppy seed filling if anyone has one.
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Thank you so much for this recipe. My Grandmother would make these and poppy seed rolls for Christmas. I have her recipe, but I live in the mountains and with the altitude her recipe would come out too dry. Your recipe is moist and perfect, even at 5,200 feet!
My only request is that I think the rise time should be included in the “total time” listed on your recipe card. Not including the 3 hours of rising can be confusing.
Thank you again for a fabulous recipe!
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Tried baking nut rolls for the first time this Christmas following this recipe and came out very good! Thank you!
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I am of Croatian decent. This is called potica (po-teet-sa). My grandmother and my mother always made it for Christmas and Easter. I have their old recipe. I am always interested in other versions. The filling is made a little differently. Try it with a slice of cold baked ham (YUM). I also have the recipe for the cottage cheese filling if anyone is interested in that. The dough was also a little different, more buttery and flaky. My grandmother always made that version during Lent for what ever reason. All the old timers are gone, so no one to ask.
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Lexy Lawrence on January 28th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
LINDA – I’d love your recipe for the cottage cheese filling….also looking for the poppyseed filling ingredients if anyone has it (please email me at:
yxelyxel @ gmail . com (no spaces inbetween) Thanks.
MICHELLE – Thank you so much for bringing my grandma’s German Nut Roll recipe back to me. I miss it and can’t wait to get started making this.
One question….how wide would you say the width of the nutroll is after it bakes? Our’s were about 4-5″ wide. I’ve had some Polish ones that were much smaller, like maybe 2-3 inches.
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Michelle on January 28th, 2013 at 11:45 pm
Hi Lexy, These are more in the range of 4-5″. Enjoy!
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Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I have been looking for years for this exact recipe my Grandmother use to make this and I could not find a recipe to match hers this is spot on! they turned out excellent,,Happy Easter
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Yes this is Croatian “Orahnjaca”,orah=walnuts…..here you can find more Croatian recopies !
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This is an OUTSTANDING recipe- the only one I will ever make. It makes a ton of nut roll. I froze them at Christmas time and just grab one out of the freezer anytime that I need a fix. I LOVE your site- this is my go to when I need a Pittsburgh favorite- nutroll, thumbprints and pepperoni bread just to name a few
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