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Pasta Chicken

Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

Published: Dec 20, 2012 | 13 Comments

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Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies – my favorite Christmas holiday cookies! The flavor and the texture of these cookies are really nice: they taste like chocolates with hazelnuts and at the same time crunchy.
Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

These chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies is my fourth and the last cookie recipe in December. I always loved hazelnuts in chocolates but, surprisingly, I never used ground hazelnuts in a Christmas cookie until this recipe.  I love chocolate-nut-shortbread combination. My two favorite nuts to use in Christmas cookies are, without question, hazelnut and almond (as in Almond Shortbread Cookies with Amaretto and in Almond Crescent Christmas Cookies recipes).

For these holiday cookies, I used a recipe from Epicurious, and the only thing I changed was that I removed baking soda, because I like my shortbread’s texture without it. The recipe also calls for toasted and husked hazelnuts, which is pretty easy to do.   I preheated oven to 350 F, placed raw hazelnuts (with skins still on) on the baking sheet and toasted them for 5-10 minutes. After I took the hazelnuts out of the oven and after they cooled off, I husked them by rubbing a handful of hazelnuts between my hands. This did a pretty good job of getting rid of most of the skins.

Once cookies are baked, they can be decorated in 3 different ways – dipped and covered only in chocolate, like on this photo:

Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

dipped in both chocolate and coarsely chocolate hazelnuts:

Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

or you don’t have to dip them neither in chocolate nor in coarsely chopped nuts. Or, you can do all 3 combinations (plain, dipped in chocolate, dipped in both chocolate and coarsely chopped nuts) for an easy holiday cookie assortment that will look like this:

Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

How to make chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

Here are step-by-step photos illustrating some of the steps about how to make these hazelnut shortbread cookies.  These photos might help you with the recipe instructions.

Place husked toasted hazelnuts in food processor to grind them or coarsely chop

hazelnuts in food processor

Grind hazelnuts in food processor

grinding hazelnuts in food processor

Add ground hazelnuts to the cookie batter

adding hazelnuts to the batter

Mix ground hazelnuts into the cookie batter until well combined

mixing ground hazelnuts into the batter

Cookie batter forms, looking like coarse meal

batter looks like coarse meal

Roll cookie dough into logs of different sizes (to make cookies of different radius – small and big), then wrap in plastic before placing in the freezer/refrigerator

rolling cookie dough into logs

Slice refrigerated cookie dough logs into thin slices

slicing cookie dough

Place sliced cookies on a baking sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart.  Bake them in the oven following the baking instructions in the recipe box below.

sliced cookies on a baking sheet, chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

To decorate cookies: coarsely chopped hazelnuts and melted chocolate

ground hazelnuts and melted chocolate

Dip chocolate covered cookie into ground hazelnuts

dipping cookie into ground hazelnuts

Cookie dipped in coarsely chopped hazelnuts

dipping cookie into ground hazelnuts

Cookie dipped in coarsely chopped hazelnuts

dipping cookie into ground hazelnuts2

Cooling cookies on wire rack – some of them are chocolate covered, some of them also have coarsely chopped hazelnuts on top. It’s fun to have different cookies

Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

Cookies on a wire rack

Chocolate covered hazelnut shortbread cookies

 

5 from 1 vote
Print
Chocolate Covered Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 

Perfect holiday shortbread cookie recipe: Chocolate Covered Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies.  Make these for your Christmas cookie box!

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 142 kcal
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter unsalted, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts , toasted, husked, finely ground
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for decorating:
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate such as Lindt, chopped
  • 1/3 cup hazelnuts , husked toasted
Instructions
  1. To make finely ground nuts, place husked toasted hazelnuts into food processor and process until finely ground. See my note below the recipe about how to husk hazelnuts once they are toasted (between your two hands – it’s very easy and effective)

  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy, then add 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts and vanilla and beat to combine. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt, then add mixed flour and salt to the creamy butter-sugar mixture. Do not overmix, mix just enough to combine all ingredients and form a cookie batter.

  3. Shape dough into 4 logs of different thickness (to make cookies of different radius – large and small). Wrap each log in plastic wrap and put wrapped cookie dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, then in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

  4. Preheat oven to 325 F. After cookie dough has been in the freezer and refrigerator, unwrap plastic and slice each log into thin cookie slices. Place cookie slices on ungreased baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake for about 20 minutes, don’t let the cookies to get brown. After 20 minutes of baking, transfer cookies to rack to cool.

  5. To decorate cookies, melt chocolate in a small skillet over medium heat, just until chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

  6. Using spatula, brush half of the cookie on one side only (no chocolate on the bottom of the cookie) and along the cookie side. Transfer to rack to dry. Do that with each cookie (if desired). Then you can dip the chocolate side of the cookie into coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Return to rack. You can leave some cookies just covered with chocolate, without hazelnuts crumbs. You can also leave some cookies just plain (no chocolate, no hazelnuts on top of chocolate). Repeat with remaining cookies. Let cookies dry on rack for at least 1 hour, for chocolate to harden.

Recipe Notes

Note:  The recipe also calls for toasted and husked hazelnuts, which is pretty easy to do.   I preheated oven to 350, placed raw hazelnuts (with skins still on) on the baking sheet and toasted them for 5-10 minutes. After I took the hazelnuts out of the oven and after they cooled off, I husked them by rubbing a handful of hazelnuts between my hands. This did a pretty good job of getting rid of most of the skins.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious. 

Nutrition Facts
Chocolate Covered Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Amount Per Serving
Calories 142 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 12mg4%
Sodium 56mg2%
Potassium 81mg2%
Carbohydrates 11g4%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 140IU3%
Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Filed Under: Baking, Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Dessert, Hazelnuts, Nuts, Recipe, Shortbread Published: Dec 20, 2012 13 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. A

    Dec 08, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    Beautiful cookies! Made them yesterday. They look amazing. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Julia

      Feb 20, 2020 at 7:22 pm

      So glad you tried these cookies and enjoyed them!

      Reply
  2. Amallia @DesireToEat

    Jan 08, 2015 at 11:53 am

    I love shortbread cookies, with chocolate and hazelnut would be perfect !

    Reply
  3. Debbie

    Dec 18, 2014 at 8:09 am

    Providing homemade cookie trays to family and friends this year. These cookies will be included. Yum….

    Reply
  4. Kayle (The Cooking Actress)

    Dec 28, 2012 at 5:35 am

    Ooooh hazelnuts, chocolate, and cookies!!! SUCH a yummy combination! These look fab! Pinning them!

    Reply
  5. sippitysup

    Dec 24, 2012 at 10:21 am

    Visions of sugar plums dance in my head. Merry Christmas my friend. GREG

    Reply
    • Julia

      Dec 27, 2012 at 5:03 pm

      Ha-ha!

      Reply
  6. V

    Dec 23, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    The cookies look delicious! thank you for sharing the recipe – Happy Holidays.

    -V
    http://stylishlyme.com/

    Reply
    • Julia

      Dec 27, 2012 at 5:03 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  7. Laura Dembowski

    Dec 21, 2012 at 1:24 pm

    Hazelnuts are such an underutilized nut. The have great flavor and I bet are wonderful in these cookies.

    Reply
    • Julia

      Dec 27, 2012 at 5:02 pm

      Hazelnuts make cookies so flavorful. I love hazelnuts in chocolate bars so why not use them in cookies, too?

      Reply
  8. JulieD

    Dec 21, 2012 at 6:20 am

    Oh my! I have never baked with hazelnuts before…not sure why. these cookies look so divine!!

    Reply
    • Myjuicingweb

      Dec 23, 2012 at 5:45 pm

      You are same with me, i also have never baked with hazelnuts before, this is my first experience.. Thanks Julia..

      Reply

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