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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies

November 24, 2018 by Ania - 16

aquafaba, chocolate, easy, gluten-free, hazelnutsgo to recipe

go to recipe

chocolate hazelnut cookies stack

When it comes to chocolate and hazelnuts, they can do no wrong in my books! My love for this flavour combo started in my childhood when my dad used to bring us a specific brand of hazelnut chocolate from his infrequent work trips to Germany. My brother and I used to refer to it as ‘a chocolate with a window’, as it had a rectangle of transparent plastic in the middle of the bar, revealing a generous amount of whole hazelnuts peeking through the chocolate. It was a double treat in communist Poland as there was no real chocolate to be had. This is perhaps why I have this simple marriage of flavours imprinted so well on my brain and it never ceases to excite my tastebuds.

These crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside cookies are a bow to this childhood flavour memory. I resisted my natural urge to over complicate (I call that improving) things and kept them simple, BUT I would not be myself if I did not tell you that an addition of orange zest, ground cardamom, coffee or hot chilli would be very welcome here too. For the best results, I recommend making these with superfine (known as caster in the UK) sugar, but as I know that many of you are keen on alternative sugars, I also tested them with maple syrup and while it changes the texture of these cookies substantially – they end up being flatter – they came out really quite tasty too.

With Xmas just round the corner, these cookies would make a great addition to the festive cookie platter, if that’s something you are into. My late grandma was famous for making about 12 different types of cookies for Xmas every year, well into her 80s. Her cookies were legendary and it must have taken her a solid week to produce all of them, but she was unstoppable!

While I used to enjoy eating them immensely as a kid, I won’t be following in her footsteps, as I do remember her always being very overworked and super stressed (in fact all WOMEN in my family were) leading up to Xmas. Even if you were to suggest that maybe we don’t need all this variety and quantity of food, that was never an option. My mum is the same and she is a bit worried that I am at odds with this tradition myself, but tell you what, it’s time to start your own traditions if the old ones don’t really serve you. Who is with me?

PS: If you make my flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

chocolate hazelnut cookies hazelnuts chopping

chocolate hazelnut cookies making

chocolate hazelnut cookies before baking

chocolate hazelnut cookies baked

5.00 from 3 votes
Print
  • makes: 12
  • prep: 20 min
  • cooking: 15 min

Ingredients

  • 150 g / 1 cup hazelnuts, divided
  • 100 g / just under 1 cup hazelnut meal (or finely ground hazelnuts)
  • 80 g / heaped 1/3 cup sugar (caster / superfine sugar works best) OR 80 ml / 1/3 cup maple syrup*
  • heaped ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 tbsp cacao powder
  • 45 ml / 3 tbsp aquafaba / chickpea brine

Method

  1. Take 100 g (2/3 cup) of hazelnuts and grind them into a coarse powder in a food processor or coffee grinder. Leave a few bigger chunks in for extra texture.
  2. Chop the remaining 50 g (1/3 cup) of hazelnuts quite coarsely and spread them on a large plate or tray.
  3. In a big mixing bowl, combine the hazelnut meal, coarsely ground hazelnuts, sugar, salt and cacao powder. Using maple syrup will produce a dough that is much wetter and so it’s texture will differ from what you can see in my photos.
  4. Mix it all well and then add enough aquafaba (I used 3 tbsp, it may end up being a bit more or a bit less) to bind all the ingredients together and produce a sticky cookie dough.
  5. Divide the dough into 12 equally sized pieces. Roll each portion of dough between the palms of your hands and then lightly press the dough into the chopped hazelnuts to coat on both sides. If you used maple syrup, spoon blobs of the mixture onto the baking tray and sprinkle the chopped nuts on top.
  6. Preheat the oven to 175° C / 350° F. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for about 15 minutes (maple syrup cookies take more time to bake, about 25 minutes), until they are lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool down before transferring to a plate (or else they may fall apart). Store in an airtight container.

Notes

*I recommend using sugar to make these as it produces a nicer texture, but I have tested making these with maple syrup and it can be done. It does, however, make the cookies flatter and requires a longer baking time.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Bridget says

    November 25, 2018 at 6:48 pm

    I will try out this recipe this week. It looks wonderful!! I also adore this flavour combination!
    My family is the same with the crazy amount of work we take on at the holidays. Well, specifically my Mom used to and then me. Just in the last 2 years I’ve said No. It’s my holiday too and I want the opportunity to relax a little and enjoy it. You just have to let yourself off the hook of being responsible for everything. Such a relief.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 26, 2018 at 12:48 pm

      I’m totally with your, Bridget! It’s about getting together with people and food, while important, is only secondary. Especially the amount of food!! Hope you’ll enjoy my cookies! Ania

      Reply
  2. monika says

    December 13, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    i am not vegan – can i use an egg instead of the aquafaba?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 13, 2018 at 5:24 pm

      Hi,

      I suppose you can, but I have never tried making these non-vegan so cannot advise on the quantity. Ania

      Reply
  3. Bee Gill says

    January 3, 2019 at 10:01 pm

    Do you use raw or roasted hazelnuts?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 3, 2019 at 11:03 pm

      I use raw

      Reply
  4. Bee Gill says

    January 4, 2019 at 12:35 am

    Just made these and they are gorgeous! I used maple syrup, but added a tablespoon of flax meal and only one tablespoon of aquafaba. Mine were perfect after 15 minutes in the oven. They look just like your picture and have a lovely, fudgy texture with deep chocolate flavor. I used raw hazelnuts, which were fine. Also, when I ground the nuts in the first step, I made the additional cup of hazelnut meal as well. I think chocolate chips in the dough would not be amiss 😉 Tagging you on instagram!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 4, 2019 at 12:21 pm

      That’s really great to hear!! Looking forward to seeing the photo! 🙂 Ania

      Reply
  5. Katherine says

    January 31, 2019 at 12:54 am

    I made these tonight and they are terrific!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 31, 2019 at 11:43 am

      Thanks, Katherine! I am delighted to hear that! Ania

      Reply
  6. Olivia says

    March 17, 2019 at 12:39 am

    Hi Ania – Would you be able to clarify the amount of chopped hazelnuts for coating the cookies vs. hazelnut meal? The way the recipe reads to me is 1/3 c. chopped hazelnuts and 2/3 ground hazelnuts PLUS 1c. hazelnut meal. But that doesn’t seem right 🙂

    Reply
    • Ania says

      March 17, 2019 at 12:44 pm

      Hi Olivia,

      Yes, that’s absolutely correct. What you want is 1 cup of hazelnut meal (which is super fine), 2/3 cup of coarsely ground hazelnuts and /3 cup of chunkier, chopped hazelnuts to coat the cookies in. Hope that clarifies. Ania

      Reply
  7. Maude says

    November 8, 2019 at 3:11 pm

    Really need to try those, sounds terrible! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      November 8, 2019 at 5:22 pm

      Thanks Maude! I’m assuming you were meant to say ‘terrific’ as ‘terrible’ isn’t really a compliment, especially when it comes to food 😉 I bet it’s your autocorrect… Ania

      Reply
  8. Emma says

    December 26, 2019 at 7:07 am

    Oh my goodness! I am still very new to plant based eating and these are so delicious! A hit with everyone who has tried them (vegan or not). And aside from the sugar, they are so healthy! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!!!!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 28, 2019 at 8:58 pm

      Aw, thanks so much, Emma! I am delighted to hear that and all the best with your vegan journey! x Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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