Hazelnut cookies made with homemade hazelnut butter, bits of chocolate, and a crunchy sugar coating. Soft, chewy, and full of nutty flavor.
Why I Love It
A few years ago, some family gifted us the leftover hazelnuts from their wedding. Since Oregon grows about 99% of the hazelnuts produced in the United States, it felt like the most Oregon gift imaginable. We suddenly had six gallon bags of hazelnuts in the freezer and a very obvious mission: figure out what to do with them all.
So I started making everything I could think of. Homemade Nutella, hazelnut butter, biscotti, chocolate salami, airy hazelnut meringues. We made a respectable dent in the freezer stash before Operation Hazelnut slowly fizzled out.
Fast forward a few years, and while digging through the freezer recently, I discovered one last forgotten bag. It felt only right to turn it into cookies.
These are somewhere between a peanut butter cookie and a chocolate chip cookie, but with deep, toasty hazelnut flavor. I make homemade hazelnut butter first, then mix it into the dough with plenty of vanilla and finely chopped bittersweet chocolate. The cookies bake up soft and chewy with crisp, sugary edges and little flecks of chocolate throughout.
If you have sanding sugar, definitely use it for rolling. It gives the cookies the prettiest sparkle and the most delicate crunch. And if you find yourself with extra hazelnuts after making these, don't miss my Homemade Hazelnut Butter, Chocolate Salami, or Hazelnut Meringue Cookies next.
How to Make Hazelnut Cookies
Recipe Tips
Roast the hazelnuts until fragrant. A deep golden roast brings out their buttery flavor and makes the skins much easier to remove.
Be patient with the food processor. The hazelnuts will look dry and crumbly before they suddenly become smooth and creamy. Just keep going.
Finely chop the chocolate. Smaller pieces distribute throughout the cookies so you get a little chocolate in every bite instead of a few large pockets.
The dough is supposed to be soft. Chilling simply makes it easier to roll, but the cookies bake beautifully either way.
Don't overbake them. Pull the cookies from the oven while the centers still look slightly underdone. They'll finish setting on the baking sheet and stay wonderfully chewy.
Roll in sanding sugar if you have it. It gives the cookies a delicate crunch and the prettiest sparkling finish.
Hazelnut Cookies
Hazelnut cookies made with homemade hazelnut butter, bits of chocolate, and a crunchy sugar coating. Soft, chewy, and full of nutty flavor.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 dozen cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 6 oz raw hazelnuts
- 2 tbsp hazelnut oil (can substitute any nut oil or canola oil)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ packed dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup bittersweet chocolate chips, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spread hazelnuts out on a rimmed, ungreased baking sheet and roast until fragrant and golden brown, 15- 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with a large damp dish towel. Let steam for 5 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.
- Use the towel to rub the hazelnuts and remove their skins.
- Transfer nuts and hazelnut oil to a food processor and process until smooth, 8- 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Nuts will go from coarsely ground, to dough-like and clumping, to a thick paste, and eventually to a mostly smooth butter. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Add butter, brown sugar, sugar, and salt to the food processor and process until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in egg, vanilla, and hazelnut butter. Add dry ingredients and pulse until just combined. Mix in chopped chocolate. Transfer dough to a large bowl and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Shape the dough into tablespoon-sized balls, roll smooth, and toss to coat in sugar (dough will be very soft). Arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking heets
- Bake for 8- 9 minutes, or until just set but still very soft in the center. Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat baking cookies until all of the dough has been baked.
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 145
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 90mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.8g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Protein: 2.5g
- Cholesterol: 16mg
Remek says
Really, really need to provide a metric option. Especially for anything baking. Sounds like a great recipe, but I don't feel like futzing around with cup measures.