*Photos updated in May 2017*
Did everyone enjoy eating their own body weight in chocolate eggs this weekend? After much pestering from Katie, I did manage to throw together some roast chicken on Sunday evening, along with my best ever roast potatoes. I must share the recipe for those beauties sometime. Not really baking though, is it?
Talking of baking, unsurprisingly I did a lot of it this bank holiday weekend. And I will start you off with what Katie insists are the best cookies I’ve ever made. Apparently she couldn’t think of a single way they could be improved. That’s the sort of review I want!
Hazelnut chocolate cookies = living the dream. Am I right?
The origin story for these hazelnut chocolate cookies comes from last Christmas. I was baking a tonne of cookies to give to people, which included these slice ‘n’ bake cookies from Sally. They went down so well, that I knew I had to adapt my own chocolate chip cookie recipe into something a bit more hazelnutty. And that’s how these gorgeous beasts were born.
The hazelnut flavour is two-fold:
One – Hazelnut butter. This was a bit of a mission to hunt down, but it was definitely worth it. It’s like Nutella without the chocolate. (Side note – I need to make Nutella cookies, as soon as possible). I got this Biona Organic Hazelnut Butter from Ocado, but I am sure there are other varieties and places you can track some down. Or you could blend up some hazelnuts yourself – this minimalist baker recipe looks like a good’un. Whatever you do, you need to get some of this butter and make these hazelnut chocolate cookies, stat.
Two – Roasted hazelnuts. Chop them in half, and make sure to save a few to press into the tops of the cookie dough before baking to make them the extra chunky hazelnut look.
Both of the above come together with the dark chocolate chips to create something really special. They remind me of those Boasters cookies you used to get (and apparently still can) in the supermarket. But you know what’s gone into these, and there’s no preservatives or E numbers in sight. Plus, you can bask in the glory of having reached the peak of all the cookies.
As I mentioned up top, these hazelnut chocolate cookies are adapted from my original chocolate chip cookie recipe I shared a few months ago. I made a few notable changes, apart from the obvious addition of the nut butter and chopped hazelnuts…
I decreased the amount of sugar in them a little. I wanted these cookies to be a bit more ‘grown up’ I guess, and I didn’t want too much sweetness detracting from the hazelnut and dark chocolate flavours. They are still sweet enough though, don’t worry.
And I replaced the milk chocolate chips with dark chocolate. Because I’m sophisticated like that.
Spoiler alert – I might have also adapted the above cookies using a slightly more popular nut butter this weekend too…. I’m sure all will be revealed later this week. But for now, get in the kitchen and let me know how much you love these hazelnut chocolate cookies!
- 225g (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 100g (½ cup) white caster sugar (US granulated sugar)
- 100g (½ cup) dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125g (½ cup) smooth hazelnut butter (I I used Biona)
- 300g (2½ cups) plain or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 175g (1 cup) dark chocolate chips (bittersweet)
- 125g (¾ cup) chopped roasted hazelnuts
- Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan), and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add both types of sugar, and beat until the sugars have been fully combined, and the mixture is smooth.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and hazelnut butter to the bowl and mix well.
- Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt, and mix until just combined on a low setting. Avoid over-mixing.
- Add the chocolate chips and chopped hazelnuts, and mix on the lowest setting until they are evenly distributed.
- Scoop heaped teaspoons of the dough into your hand, and shape into balls. Place these on the pre-lined baking sheet, and flatten a bit with your hand or the bottom of a floured glass. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges feel slightly firm and have turned a very light brown colour. The cookies will not look like they are baked, and will feel VERY soft in the centre. However, remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- These cookies will keep for up to a week if stored in an airtight container in a cool place. The baked cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months, and the unbaked dough balls can be frozen for up to six weeks. Cook straight from frozen, but may need a few minutes longer in the oven.