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These Hungarian nut rolls are rich and tender, with a warm apple-spiced walnut-and-pecan filling tucked into soft dough and a thin drizzle of icing over the top. They look fancy enough to wrap up or take to a holiday table, but the dough is surprisingly cooperative. The filling turns almost Caramel-like after baking, and the recipe makes four to six beautiful loaves.
Why You’ll Love It
- Warm apple-spiced filling — walnuts, Pecans, grated apple, and cinnamon bake into a rich, caramel-like center.
- Tender, cooperative dough — the sour cream dough rolls and seals easily.
- Makes plenty to share — the recipe yields four to six loaves, depending on size.
- Extra filling is useful — freeze it for apple pie, baked sweet potatoes, or coffee Cake.
Ingredient Notes
For the nuts, the combination is about 1 1/2 pounds walnuts and 1/2 pound pecans. That mix has a nice balance—the walnuts bring that pleasantly bitter, old-fashioned nut-roll flavor, and pecans soften things a bit. You can use anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds of ground nuts, but the fuller amount provides plenty of filling.
Grate the apple rather than chopping it. A plain old apple from the fruit bowl is fine; there is no need to hunt for a specific variety. Something tart is nice, but any apple from the crisper drawer will work.
Use warm milk for the yeast, not hot. It should feel comfortably warm, around 105 to 115 degrees F. Milk that is too hot can leave the dough sitting like a lump of damp wallpaper paste.
Sour cream in the dough is one of those ingredients that sounds slightly strange until the finished roll is tasted. It makes the dough tender and rich without making it taste tangy. Full-fat sour cream is best. Reduced-fat would technically function, but this is not the time to make a 6-loaf recipe taste like compromise.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 pounds ground nuts, about 1 1/2 pounds walnuts and 1/2 pound pecans is a usual mix
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large apple, grated
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, depending on preference
- 2 sticks Butter, melted, for the filling
- 2 packages dry yeast, or 2 yeast cakes
- 1/2 cup warm milk, around 105 to 115 degrees F
- 6 to 6 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 2 sticks butter, melted or very soft, for the dough
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk, maybe a touch more if the kitchen is dry
Instructions
Start with the filling, because it needs time to cool. In a large saucepan, combine the ground nuts, granulated sugar, 2 eggs, grated apple, and cinnamon. Stir it together well. It will look like an awful lot of filling. That’s because it is. Don’t panic.
Stir in the 2 sticks of melted butter. Set the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, for about 8 to 10 minutes, until everything is blended and thickened slightly. Don’t wander off to answer the door or start folding laundry. Nut filling can catch on the bottom of the pan quicker than expected, and burnt walnuts have a smell that lingers.
Remove the filling from the heat and let it cool completely. This is important. Warm filling on dough is a slippery mess.
For the dough, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Because this recipe uses two packages of yeast, it can take longer than expected to dissolve—sometimes close to 20 minutes. Let it do its thing. The yeast is not ignoring anything; it’s just slow.
In a large bowl, combine 6 cups of the sifted flour, the 6 tablespoons sugar, salt, sour cream, beaten eggs, and the 2 sticks of melted or very soft butter. Add the dissolved yeast and milk mixture.
Blend everything very well. The dough should come together into a soft, workable dough. If it feels too sticky, add some of the remaining 1/2 cup flour a little at a time. Try not to overdo the flour because a soft dough makes a tender roll. Use judgment.
Divide the dough into 4 or 6 portions, depending on whether larger or shorter rolls are preferred. Four makes generous loaves; six makes smaller ones that are handy for gifting.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion out to about 1/4-inch thick. No ruler is needed. If it looks about right, it probably is. Try for a rectangle, though the shape does not need to be exact.
Spread the cooled nut filling over each piece of dough, leaving a small border around the edges. There may be extra filling, and that is normal. Save it—it freezes beautifully and is wonderful over apple pie, baked sweet potatoes, or stirred into a coffee cake situation.
Roll each piece up jellyroll-style. Seal the long edge and fold the ends under so the filling stays where it belongs. Place each roll seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking Sheet.
Loosely cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let them rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Around the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If baking in batches, set a timer for the first pan, then begin shaping the second set about 30 minutes later. That little stagger keeps things moving without turning the kitchen into a yeast-dough traffic jam.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the rolls are a lovely golden brown. They often land closer to 35 minutes, but ovens have personalities.
Remove the nut rolls from the oven. While they cool a bit, make the icing by stirring together the confectioners’ sugar and milk. Add the milk slowly until it reaches a drizzling consistency—not frosting, not milk. Somewhere in that sweet little middle ground.
Drizzle the icing over the warm rolls. Neat zigzags work well, but a rustic drizzle is just as good.
Variations
Add a pinch more cinnamon or a little extra grated apple for a softer filling. The extra apple may cause the filling to spread a little more when sliced. A firmer filling holds its shape more neatly.
Raisins can be added, but they are not included here.
You can make four large loaves or six smaller ones. The smaller rolls are easier to tuck into gift bags, and they bake up beautifully. The larger ones look more dramatic on a holiday table. Either way, don’t skip folding over the ends. That filling is delicious, but it will absolutely make a break for it if given the opportunity.
Storage & Reheating
Once completely cool, keep the nut rolls wrapped tightly at room temperature for a couple of days. Use plastic wrap and then foil if storing them longer than overnight. They also freeze very well. Wrap whole loaves or individual slices tightly, then thaw at room temperature when needed.
For a warm slice, microwave for just a few seconds—maybe 10 to 15, depending on the thickness. Too long and the icing gets weirdly shiny and the bread turns rubbery. There is a narrow window there.
A wrapped loaf can stay in the freezer for an extended time and still be wonderful after thawing.
Final Notes
The warm house, the apple-spiced filling, and the soft dough make these nut rolls worth baking again and again.
Hungarian Nut Rolls
Ingredients Â
- 1 to 2 pounds ground nuts about 1 1/2 pounds walnuts and 1/2 pound pecans is the usual mix
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large apple grated
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon depending on preference
- 2 sticks butter melted, for the filling
- 2 packages dry yeast or 2 yeast cakes; dissolve in 1/2 cup warm milk, around 105 to 115°F
- 6 to 6 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream full-fat preferred
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 2 sticks butter melted or very soft, for the dough
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar stir with 2 to 3 tablespoons milk, plus a touch more if needed, until drizzleable
InstructionsÂ
- In a large saucepan, combine the ground nuts, granulated sugar, 2 eggs, grated apple, cinnamon, and 2 sticks melted butter, then cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 8 to 10 minutes until blended and slightly thickened.
- Remove the filling from the heat and let it cool completely before using, because warm filling will make the dough slippery and difficult to handle.
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk, letting it sit until dissolved; because this recipe uses two packages of yeast, this may take close to 20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine 6 cups sifted flour, 6 tablespoons sugar, salt, sour cream, beaten eggs, and the 2 sticks melted or very soft butter, then add the dissolved yeast and milk mixture.
- Blend everything very well until a soft, workable dough forms, adding the remaining 1/2 cup flour a little at a time only if the dough feels too sticky.
- Divide the dough into 4 portions for generous loaves or 6 portions for smaller rolls that are handy for gifting.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a rough rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
- Spread the cooled nut filling over each piece of dough, leaving a small border around the edges; save any extra filling for freezing and using later.
- Roll each piece up jellyroll-style, seal the long edge, fold the ends under, and place each roll seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Loosely cover the rolls with plastic wrap and let them rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size, then preheat the oven to 350°F near the end of the rise.
- Bake the rolls for 30 to 40 minutes, often closer to 35 minutes, until they are a lovely golden brown.
- While the rolls cool slightly, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and milk, adding the milk slowly until it reaches a drizzling consistency, then drizzle the icing over the warm rolls.