4 days to Christmas and I'm here with the last Xmas Cookies Series' recipe! Delicious double hazelnut shortbread cookies (sort of linzer cookies), probably my favorite recipe from the series!
The good news is that, in addition to the holiday season, you can make these all year round. There's no season for these eheh
And just like the other ones, they are SUPER simple. I bet you'll love them and they will become your favorite cookies too!
The "secret" to delicious hazelnut shortbread cookies
I'll be concise: there's one "secret" (quote unquote) to make these delicious hazelnut shortbread cookies, and that is adding actual ground hazelnuts into the dough.
If you remember, in my shortbread cookies with chocolate, orange and brandy I added orange zest and brandy into the dough, to flavor it. My simple lemon shortbread cookies instead had lemon zest and vanilla extract (again, into the dough).
Well, these simply have hazelnuts (with no skin) that I blended with a food processor until I got a thin meal (then added a couple tablespoons of my all purpose flour and ground a few more seconds).
Do not grind for too much though, or the risk is to extract too much of the oils and obtain a nut butter instead.
I LOVED the extra depth of flavor they gave to the shortbread dough!
Can you use hazelnut flour?
I haven't tested it, but my guess is that you can. My tip is that you use high quality flour otherwise flavor won't be that detectable.
How to make these cookies
Just like the other shortbread cookies from the series, these are simple and follow the same method. You know how it works: basic recipe for the dough, we are just going to change flavour (check out the choco-brandy-orange cookies here, and lemon ones here)
Grind hazelnuts, prepare dough and let chill
- I usually use a food processor or stand mixer* to make the dough.
- In this case I first grind hazelnuts (or toasted hazelnuts), until I get a meal. Then add a couple tablespoons of flour (to absorb some of the oils), then grind again.
- Into a bigger food processor, add your all purpose flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder (for color), ground hazelnuts, egg, unsalted butter (for more tender cookies use it at room temperature), salt and blend until you get a crumbly texture.
- Place dough on a work surface (or straight onto some plastic wrap) and gently (but quickly) work with your hands until you get a nice dough.
- Flatten the soft dough with your hands, then cover with clingfilm and let chill into the fridge for about 30 minutes or more, if needed.
*In this case, grind the hazelnuts then put all the ingredients into the large bowl of a stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to combine the ingredients at low/medium speed. Use a spatula to remove the dough (also from the bottom of the bowl), then cover with plastic wrap.
Shape cookies and let chill again (important)
- Time to give our cookies a shape! Take dough from the fridge, and roll the dough out onto a well floured surface. If it's too sticky, dust well.
- Cut your cookies: I've used a round cookie cutter and a linzer cookie cutter with a star in the middle*
- Arrange them on prepared baking sheets (lined with parchment paper), then let them chill into the fridge for about 10 minutes or a bit more.
- This will allow them to hold their shape.
*Or you can just use a round one.
Bake and fill
- Bake the hazelnut shortbread cookies for about 14 minutes (it depends on your oven, keep an eye on them), at 180° C / 355° F (place cookie sheets in the center of the oven - if needed, bake the two trays of cookies separately)
- Let them cool down completely on a wire rack, then fill with spread and put another cookie on top to form a sandwich.
Here's another tip: choose a high quality hazelnut spread. Mine was made with 50% hazelnuts and that was the first ingredient. Unluckily most of the spreads out there have sugar first.
This is not a random tip. There's a high chance that if sugar is the first ingredient of the cream, the overall flavor will be sickening (remember there's already powdered sugar into the dough).
How to store hazelnut shortbread cookies
Cookies here usually cannot live more than one day.
Boyfriend's coworkers are avid dessert eaters (I'm so happy they love all my sweets eheh).
But if you wanna eat them "later", I highly recommend that you store them into an airtight container.
If you want to ship them, I recommend that you use food-safe plastic bags (seal them!). The positive side of shortbread cookies is that they last for days!
Enjoy this delicious treat with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk!
If you love shortbread cookies, check out these shortbread cookies with chocolate, orange and brandy and these buttery lemon shortbread cookies!
If you make this shortbread cookie recipe, please be sure to give it a rating and leave a comment! It would make me so happy! 🙂
Remember: if you try one of my recipes, tag me on Instagram or DM me the photos!
Hazelnut shortbread cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons Organic all purpose flour - 260 g
- ½ cup (little less) Hazelnuts - 50 g
- 1 teaspoon Cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt - 2 g
- ⅔ cup Powdered sugar - 100 g
- 8.5 tablespoons High quality unsalted butter - 120 g
- 1 Egg
- Good quality hazelnut spread
Instructions
- First grind hazelnuts, until you get a meal. Then add a couple tablespoons of flour (to absorb some of the oils), then grind again.
- Into a food processor, add your ground hazelnuts, all purpose flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder (for color), egg, unsalted butter, salt and blend until you get a crumbly texture.
- Put dough on a work surface (or straight onto some plastic wrap) and gently but quickly work with your hands until you get a nice dough. Then flatten it with your hands, cover with clingfilm and let chill into the fridge for about 30 minutes or more, if needed.
- Take dough out of the fridge, and roll the dough out onto a well floured surface. If it's too sticky, dust well.
- Shape your cookies using your favorite cookie cutters, then arrange them on prepared baking sheets (lined with parchment paper)
- Let chill into the fridge for about 10 minutes or a bit more. In the meantime, preheat the oven at 180°C / 355° F
- Bake for about 14 minutes, they are ready when you can smell a delicious nutty flavor.
- Let cool down completely, then fill with hazelnut spread and form a sandwich.
Don’t forget to pin and share this easy and delicious recipe!
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my NO STRESS Christmas Cookie Box!
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