Hazelnut Double Chunk Cookies
Submitted by wort24
Hazelnut double chunk cookies with toasted hazelnuts, chopped semi-sweet and white chocolate, and a splash of Frangelico. Half the nuts are ground into a paste that makes the dough incredibly rich and nutty.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
40 minCOOK
10 minREADY
60 minThese cookies go all in on hazelnuts. Half the nuts get processed into a smooth paste and beaten into the butter-sugar base, infusing every crumb with deep, roasted hazelnut flavor. The other half gets coarsely chopped and folded in with chunks of both semi-sweet and white chocolate for a cookie that’s crunchy, chewy, and loaded with texture.
Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) reinforces the nut flavor from a different angle, adding a sweet, aromatic warmth that vanilla alone can’t deliver. If the hazelnut paste, the chopped nuts, and the liqueur sound like overkill, that’s the point. This is a triple-hazelnut cookie.
Toasting and skinning the hazelnuts is the most labor-intensive step, but it’s what transforms them from bland and papery to golden, fragrant, and deeply flavored.
Pro Tips
- Toast the hazelnuts at 300°F (150°C) until they smell roasted and the skins crack. Rub in a tea towel to remove most of the skins. A few stubborn bits left on are fine.
- Process the nut paste until truly smooth. Stop and scrape the bowl a few times. Underprocessed nuts leave a gritty texture in the dough.
- Chop the chocolate by hand into rough chunks, not neat chips. Irregular pieces create pockets of melted chocolate and crispy edges.
- Bake just until golden on the bottom and firm on top. These cookies firm up as they cool.
Variations
- Skip the Frangelico and add an extra teaspoon of vanilla if you prefer no alcohol.
- Use all dark chocolate instead of the white for a more intense, less sweet cookie.
- Roll the dough balls in powdered sugar before baking for a crinkle-style finish.
Ingredients
Directions
To toast and skin the hazelnuts, place them in a single layer in a roasting pan or cookie sheet.
Bake in a 300 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the nuts smell toasted, are golden in the center, and their skins crack.
Rub the nuts between clean tea towels to loosen and remove as much of their skins as possible.
It is okay if some of the skins stay on.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees; butter 2 or 3 cookie sheets.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of wax paper; set aside.
Place 1 cup of the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor; cover and process until the nuts form a paste, stopping the motor once or twice to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Coarsely chop the remaining nuts.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beat the butter, hazelnut past and sugars until very light.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the liqueur and vanilla extract, beating well after each addition.
Reduce the mixer speed to slow.
Beat in the flour mixture, then the chopped chocolates and remaining hazelnuts.
Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets.
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden on the bottom and firm on the top.
Let the cookies stand on the cookie sheets on wire racks for 1 minute, then transfer them to the racks with a metal spatula.
Cool completely; store in a tightly closed container.
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