These Armenian Yogurt Cookies or Matzoon Cookies are a bit reminiscent of muffin tops! They have a cakey, muffin-like interior with slightly sugary, crisp edges. Studded with crunchy walnuts, these easy cookies are as great for breakfast with your coffee as they are for dessert!
(This recipe was originally published in October 2010, but was updated with new photos and content in 2020).
Matzoon is simply the Armenian word for yogurt. Armenians not only invented yogurt (fun fact!), but we use it in a lot of recipes like topping manti. Cookies are no exception to the Armenians love yogurt rule.
In my early years of Armenian school one of our activities included making these yogurt cookies. They're easy enough for youngsters to make, and delicious enough for everyone to enjoy!
These yogurt cookies are lightly sweet, with a fluffy and cakey interior, similar to a muffin top. It's soft on the inside, with a bit of a sugary crust on the outside. The yogurt impacts not only the flavor but also the texture, as do the crunchy walnuts.
Because of its unusual muffin/cookie hybrid flavor and texture, these yogurt cookies are perfect for breakfast! They are great with coffee or tea as a little pick me up in the afternoon as well, and of course they are great for dessert too. I've shared these easy and amazing yogurt cookies with non-Armenian friends as well, and they absolutely fell in love!
How to make them
This recipe for yogurt cookies is similar to many other cookies. Begin by creaming together soft butter and sugar. Then, beat in eggs, followed by vanilla extract and plain yogurt.
Add the dry ingredients, a combination of flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then fold in a generous amount of chopped walnuts.
Scoop the batter onto parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake until just golden around the edges. It's that simple.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
We like to use an old-fashioned nut chopper to easily and evenly chop our walnuts for these yogurt cookies. We use the same convenient nut chopper to make the walnut filling for our Armenian baklava.
For perfectly round and even cookies, I use this small cookie scoop to portion out my batter. You can drop the batter by the spoonful if you don't have a scoop, as we did back in Armenian school, but the scoop makes much prettier yogurt cookies.
Other recipes you may like
- Milk Bar's Compost Cookies
- Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Rugelach
- Pfeffernüsse (German Iced Spice Cookies)
- Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
- Perníčky (Czech Gingerbread Cookies)
- Chocolate Chubbies (Brownie Cookies)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Matzoon Cookies (Armenian Yogurt Cookies)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, until well-combined, scraping down the sides between each addition. Add the yogurt and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Scrape the bowl and beat again to make sure everything is well incorporated.
- With the mixer at low speed, slowly add the dry mixture and mix until just combined, but do not overmix. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
- Using a small ice-cream scoop (#40 scoop; 1 ½ inches in diameter), portion out level scoops of cookie dough onto parchment-lined half-sheet pans, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake in batches for 18 to 20 minutes, or until firm and lightly golden at the edges, switching pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Cool and serve.
Notes
- I use an old-fashioned nut chopper to chop the walnuts. It's convenient and yields perfectly even chopped nuts.
- This is the scoop I prefer for portioning the cookies. If you don't have a scoop, you can drop spoonfuls of dough onto your cookie sheet for more rustic-looking cookies.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
AJ says
What a delicious cookie! I’m so glad I had extra plain yogurt and walnuts to use up! Even my incredibly picky son loves these - we all do. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Marie Smith says
Takes me back to my childhood
Victoria says
Same!! Glad you enjoyed the recipe 😀
Terri says
These went down a treat at work when I made them. My workmates get to explore different cultural dishes through me as I try different recipes. These were popular.
Mary Kabakian says
This is such a fun and easy recipe to make with kids!
Camille says
These are so good!! They have almost a cakey-texture and totally remind me of muffin tops!! Also, thanks for the link to the nut chopper. I’ve always just chopped by hand but this looks like a great time saver (and mess saver!)!
Victoria says
The nut chopper is a game changer! My mom has one from way back in the day, and I bought one for my sister a few years ago too. We mainly use it for walnuts but I bet you could use it for other nuts too!