{"id":11014,"date":"2025-08-05T00:56:58","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T04:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/?p=11014"},"modified":"2025-12-31T20:50:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:50:52","slug":"costco-kirkland-walnut-halves-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/05\/costco-kirkland-walnut-halves-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Costco Kirkland Walnut Halves Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Author’s Note: Not a paid review. I bought these walnuts with my own dad-gum money. I have no affiliation with Costco<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m weird about walnuts.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I previously reviewed Costco’s Pecan Halves<\/a>, which were kind of “meh.” They were great for baking, but not-so-great for snacking. Given a choice, I wouldn’t buy them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m weird about my walnuts. I love great<\/em> walnuts, but despise bad ones. In fact, I hate bad walnuts so much, I often avoid foods made with walnuts, simply because I don’t want to risk the disappointment. Walnuts go rancid faster than other nuts<\/a>, and there is just something about a bitter, rancid walnut that is so much worse<\/em> than any other kind of nut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HOWEVER, I’ve noticed whenever I buy a Costco Bakery item with walnuts, the nut quality is “above average.” So, I was excited to see if their bulk store-brand walnut halves would be better than their pecans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’m going to say, “yes.” Yes, these are pretty dang good<\/em> walnuts. Mine were fresh and plump. And huge. There were<\/em> a few shriveled, nearly black ones, and some that were suspiciously lightweight. But the vast majority<\/em> were in excellent condition. Here are a couple of the rotten offenders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I did, of course, refrigerate my walnuts. In fact, the first thing I did when I walked into my house with my groceries was put the walnuts in the fridge. And then I froze the bag after opening. Because it will take me longer than a month to use them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t mess around with my walnuts, and you probably<\/em> shouldn’t either. Did you know even the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science says walnuts should be refrigerated<\/a>, like fresh produce? It’s true. Do it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Which begs the question, should Costco be stocking their nuts, especially walnuts, in their walk-in refrigerators? Well, it would be “cool” if they did. Just saying.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What did I make with my Costco walnuts?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’ve had an insatiable hankering for Levain-style cookies<\/a>. In fact, I bought these walnuts simply so I could make cookies. Big ‘ol cookies. Nutty, gooey, ridiculous cookies. Here they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I chopped my Costco walnuts in a food processor first, because they were mostly whole or large pieces. The food processor turned some of the nuts into powder, but I think this only enhanced the overall taste and texture of the cookies. Here’s the recipe I used<\/a>, if you also have a hankering. (Not my recipe! And I don’t know this person. But it turned out pretty scrumptious. Good recipe.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used Aldi Dark Chocolate Baking Morsels<\/a>, which I previously reviewed. And I used Costco’s natural, unrefined Brown Sugar (also reviewed…check it out)<\/a>. I swear I don’t work for Costco!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I also used my walnuts in an all-natural dark fruitcake. I based mine on the King Arthur Flour “Everyone’s Favorite Fruitcake”<\/a> recipe, and it turned out scrumptious. Mine features a combination of prunes, figs, dates, dried cranberries<\/a>, dried Montmorency cherries, crystalized ginger, and candied orange peel. I used rum to soak the fruit and burnish the loaf. The walnuts added a perfect crunchy contrast to the soft fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(For a run-down of the baking supplies I buy from Costco<\/a>, check out my review.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients in Costco Kirkland Walnuts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kind of silly, but here ya go:<\/p>\n\n\n\n