Stupid-Easy Recipe for Hazelnut Lovers’ Cookies (#1 Top-Rated)

Hazelnuts are the star of this show! These cookies are made with a trifecta of hazelnut goodness: whole hazelnuts, hazelnut liqueur, and crushed hazelnuts. A pastry spatula is your best friend with this recipe, so keep it close at hand. And, when they’re all baked, the end result is a melt-in-your-mouth bit of chocolate hazelnut heaven. 2 baking sheets; parchment paper; plastic wrap; large sealable bag; rolling pin; rubber spatula; whisk

Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for Hazelnut Lovers’ Cookies.

1. Info for Hazelnut Lovers’ Cookies

• Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min
• Total Time: 2 hr 30 min
• Servings: 24
• Calories: 84.86 kcal

2. Ingredients for Hazelnut Lovers’ Cookies

• 1½ cups (250 g) whole dry roasted hazelnuts, divided
• ¾ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon (2 g) instant espresso powder
• ¾ teaspoon (4 g) fine sea salt
• ½ cup (114 g) unsalted butter, softened
• ⅔ cup (127 g) ultra fine Baker’s sugar
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature (20g)
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) hazelnut liqueur
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) Pure vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup (120 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 2 teaspoons (8g) coconut oil

3. Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC/gas 4. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Add 1 cup (150g) of hazelnuts to your KitchenAid® K400 Blender. Cover the blender, select “Ice Crush” setting and let blender run through the setting. Use a rubber spatula scrape down the sides, then blend on speed 5 for 10 seconds. Scrape sides again and blend on speed 5 about 15-30 seconds, or until hazelnuts are finely ground.
3. Pour hazelnut flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add all purpose flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
4. Add half of the softened butter to the blender along with ⅓ of the sugar. Blend on speed 4 for 3 seconds, then scrape down the sides and stir with your rubber spatula. Add the remaining butter and another ⅓ of the sugar, then blend again on speed 4 for 3 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the blender and stir again before adding the last ⅓ of the sugar. Blend on speed 4 for 3 seconds two more times, stopping the blender in between to scrap and stir the mixture.
5. Remove the lid cap and add egg yolk, whipping cream, hazelnut liqueur, and vanilla extract to blender. Replace the lid cap and pulse 3 times to mix, using your rubber spatula to scrape down sides after each pulse.
6. Remove the lid and add the hazelnut flour mixture to the blender a third at a time, quickly pulsing 5 times after each addition and scraping down sides of blender with your rubber spatula as needed.
7. Transfer dough to a medium mixing bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours. (Note: the dough will be very sticky.)
8. Place remaining ½ cup (83g) hazelnuts in large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush into small pieces. Place into small bowl and set aside.
9. Remove chilled dough from the freezer and use your hands to form into 1” balls. Roll the balls in the crushed hazelnuts and place 2-in apart on lined baking sheets (12 cookies per pan).
10. Bake 10-12 min, or until cookies are still soft but dry to the touch. Let cookies cool on baking pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
11. Make the chocolate drizzle. In a microwave-safe bowl, add chocolate chips and coconut oil. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring chocolate between each interval. (Depending on power of the microwave, this could take 2-3 cycles.)
12. Use a spoon to drizzle each cookie with melted chocolate. Do not store cookies until chocolate is fully set (at least 30 minutes).
13. NOTES: You can purchase dry roasted hazelnuts, or roast raw hazelnuts. To roast hazelnuts; spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 275ºF/135ºC for 15-20 minutes. Let nuts cool for 10 minutes before adding to the blender.
14. When mixing the butter and sugar take care to incorporate all the butter into the sugar-you are looking for a light, fluffy texture. This will yield a light, moist cookie.
15. Once formed into balls and rolled in the crushed hazelnuts, the cookie dough can be placed in a ziploc bag and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Simply remove from the freezer and bake dough balls from frozen. Note: you may need to add 5-10 minutes of baking time.
16. Cookies will keep for 5 days in an airtight container stored at room temperature.