These moist, gluten-free hazelnut cookies get drizzled with chocolate and topped with flaky sea salt. They’re a great mix of salty and sweet with soft and crunchy.
Here I am, yet again: Late Sunday night/early Monday morning without having posted the new recipe that I told myself I would write this weekend. I certainly had plenty of time to get it done earlier in the day, but I chose to enjoy some down time in the afternoon by lying in the couch watching TV. My one saving grace is that I was at least able to finish editing these photos during commercial breaks.
This recipe is me experimenting with hazelnut flour for the first time. Pretty simply, it’s ground up hazelnuts, and can be used as a gluten-free alternative to wheat flours. I felt like the easiest way for me to make my debut with hazelnut flour was via some gluten free cookies. Ever since I placed my order I had visions of cookies drizzled with chocolate and then sprinkled with some flaky sea salt (which I happened to pick up on a recent trip to some Long Island wineries).
I brought (some of) these cookies to a brunch with me one Sunday afternoon and they were a big hit. Others exclaimed about how soft and moist they were, and commented about how one of their friend’s gluten-free baked goods often ended up dry. (However, I must admit that they will dry out if left uneaten for more than a day—as most cookies will.) Chocolate and nuts are always a great pairing, so the drizzle was a little bit of a no-brainer for me, but another option is to mix the chocolate chips into the cookie dough to make gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
The one component that really set these over the top is flaky sea salt that gets sprinkled on top at the very end. It adds a beautiful crunch to provide a textural contrast to the soft cookie. Plus, I can never get enough of a good salty-sweet combo.
Disclaimer: I received the Hazelnut Flour/Meal from Bob’s Red Mill as a sample. All views and opinions are my own.
Hazelnut Flour Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle
These moist, gluten-free hazelnut cookies get drizzled with chocolate and topped with flaky sea salt. They're a great mix of salty and sweet with soft and crunchy.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups hazelnut flour or meal, such as Bob's Red Mill
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar; add in the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the hazelnut flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients to form the cookie dough.
- Scoop into small balls (about a tablespoon) and place on the prepared baking sheet. Press gently into discs and bake until golden and lightly browned on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
- Melt the chocolate on medium power in the microwave at 15 second increments until it's easy to drizzle; drizzle over the cookies and sprinkle with some flaky sea salt.
Look AMAzing. Too bad I’m allergic to hazelnuts. Any alternatives?
You can also try almond flour in this recipe.
Almond won’t work. It’s too fine. Try chestnut flour.
Looks delicious, what would be the alternative for the butter ? Would coconut oil work ?
I believe so based on some quick research. https://www.thekitchn.com/baking-with-coconut-oil-what-you-should-know-238333
Hello! Do you think this dough can be made in advance and chilled for a day or so?
I haven’t tried it, but I believe that might be okay. Let me know if you give it a go and how it turns out.
Wow these were excellent! We are not gluten free even. My husband says it’s one of my best and I make A LOT of cookies.
Glad you enjoyed them!
This looks so good! Do you use hazelnut flour in any other recipes?
Yes, I use it in a shortbread cookie.
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
I think I brought them to a friend’s house and they were all gone that day, so unfortunately I can’t say for sure, but they should last at least a few days.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. Just made it with almond butter instead of regular butter (same amount), as I have to try and not eat dairy, and everyone here loves the result.
I’ll have to give that substitution a try some time. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
How many cookies does this recipe make
It makes about 18 cookies.
These cookies look delicious! Do they freeze well?
I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, but raw cookie dough usually freezes pretty well.
OMG: just made these and they are AWEsome!!!The brown sugar, chocolate drizzle and heavenly taste of hazelnuts – the crunch is just right and the interior is slightly soft. A real keeper. Thank you!!!
Terrific recipe! Very easy, and I got 24 good-sized cookies from it. I skipped the chocolate drizzle and sea salt, but they still have lots of flavor without those elements. I love the chewy texture, –like a macaroon — and the distinct taste of hazelnuts. (The only tweak I made to the recipe was to add about 1/4 tsp of hazelnut extract.) And the cookies are still moist and tasty on Day 3! They’re so good, I finally had to put the plastic bag containing them in my cupboard so that I wouldn’t see it on the counter every time I entered the kitchen and eat yet another cookie, haha !
Would you please comment on your technique for creating the chocolate drizzle? I melted the chocolate and tried to drizzle using a small spoon but it resulted in globs and not the fine drizzles shown in your pictures.
It helps to drizzle from up high to not get globs. You can also try thinning it with a teaspoon or so of melted butter, coconut or olive oil.
Try putting some chocolate in a plastic sandwich bag and place it in a cup/bowl of warm water until it melts. Then snip a very small corner of and then you can pipe/squeeze/draw your lines. Pretty useful for melting small quantities of chocolate and no washing up!
Can you just add the choco chips to the batter and bake that way? Thanks!
Sure, I suppose that should work too!