Classic German Nut Roll Pastry Recipe ~ Nussschnecken - Pinecones and Acorns (2024)

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Classic German Nut Rolls, Nussschnecken, filled with walnuts and cinnamon are a sweet treat the whole family will love.

My fondest memories of growing up are by my grandmothers’ side baking sweet treats with my sisters and brother. We made cookies for the holidays, homemade cakes and pies for Sunday dinner and on the weekends we made yeast rolls. Pans and pans of rolls lined the table covered in floured cloths waiting for the dough to rise. Some filled with cinnamon, others filled with prunes and jelly and some filled with ground nuts. The ground walnut rolls were my favorite, they are the classic German Nut Rolls, Nussschnecken.

Although I have a binder full of my grandmothers’ hand-written recipes, there isn’t one for the nut rolls and so I have been on the hunt for years. Recently, I came across this recipe for Nussschnecken and made them this weekend. They are the classic nut roll pastry that I remember, sweet and nutty with a hint of cinnamon, yeasty and delicious. Pastry perfection in my opinion. The best part is that the recipe is easy to make, and doesn’t take all day.

Schnecken

German pastries, Schnecken, means snail and there are endless variations of different fillings of these snail pastries, not only in Germany but across the world. In Germany when Schnecken are filled with cinnamon they are called Zimtschnecken, Mohnschnecken is a German Poppy seeds roll, German apple cinnamon rolls are called Apfelschnecken. Today though it is all about Nussschnecken. For this nut snail recipe I used ground walnuts but you can use any combination of nuts in your nut filling, pecans, hazelnuts, and even almonds. You could also use a mixture of ground and chopped nuts for a more interesting texture.

This nut roll pastry is similar to a cinnamon roll except that you do not bake them all together in a pan, you separate them on a prepared baking sheet.

Ingredients for the German Nut Rolls

Dough

• Flour
• Instant Yeast or Fast Action Yeast
• Salt
• GranulatedSugar
• Egg Yolks
• Melted Butter
• Lukewarm Milk

Filling

• Granulated Sugar
• Ground nuts, i.e, hazelnut, walnuts, almonds, pecans, or a mixture of your choice.
• Egg Whites
• Heavy Whipping Cream
• Almond Extract
• Vanilla Extract
• Ground Cinnamon

Glaze

• Powdered Sugar, icing sugar
• Lemon juice, water or heavy cream

How to MakeGerman Nut Roll Pastry ~ Nussschnecken

• Melt the butter, you can do this in a sauce pan or in the microwave. Heat the milk to lukewarm. You do not want it to boil.
• In a large bowl, add the flour, yeast, salt and sugar, mix with a wooden spoon.
• ​Lightly break the egg yolks, add them to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
• Add the melted butter and warm milk, mix and then knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is a nice smooth dough,
• Set the dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F, line baking sheets with parchment paper or a Silphat baking liner.
• In a second bowl, add the filling ingredients, sugar, ground nuts, egg whites, heavy whipping cream, almond extract, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon and mix.
• On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out into a rectangle. About 17 x 10″, and 1/4″ thick.
• Spread the filling on top of the dough evenly.
• Roll the dough from the short end of the rectangle, jellyroll style.
• Using a serrated knife cut the rolls into 1″ wide pieces.
• Set the individual buns on the lined baking sheet(s).
• Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let raise for 30 minutes in a warm place.
• Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes.
• To make the glaze, add the powdered sugar and lemon juice( or water or milk) to a small bowl and mix until a smooth thick consistency.
• Remove the nut snails from the oven and while still warm spread with glaze on the top of the roll.

Notes:

• You can also use a stand mixer to make this recipe. Simply add the dry ingredients to the bowl, add the dough hook and mix. Then add the egg yolks and then the warm milk and butter. Knead for 5 minutes in the stand mixer until the dough is smooth.
• Make sure the milk and butter are WARM, not hot or you will have scrambled eggs in the dough. I am speaking from experience, I was impatient and had to start over.
• To make more nut snails, roll the dough from the longer side and then cut into 1″ pieces using s large knife.
• The filling mixture will make a mess while you are rolling the dough and cutting the rolls.

Nussschnecken are an easy and delicious pastry to add to your holiday menu. Of course they are best served the day that you make them but you can make them ahead and reheat them for a few minutes before serving.

If you want a recipe that is even easier, try these easy almond and chocolate Danish pastries.

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