I love giving gifts. I love the care, creativity, and thought that goes into it. For the Christmas holidays this year, I wanted to give adorable little bags of cookies out to my friends.
Upon consulting my lovely mother she immediately said, ‘Oma Lisa’s hazelnut cookies.’
My great-grandmother’s beautiful slanting handwriting against the old, brown writing paper already gave me a good feeling about this recipe. Well-loved and cared for, this recipe was sure to be a winner.
With just a few minor adjustments… this recipe came out a complete flop!
Just kidding, it was only the first tray that I burnt – completely my fault. Luckily there was still lots of cookie dough left, and the rest couldn’t have come out better.
Same recipe – Two Different Cookies
These cookies are originally rich shortbread cookies with hazelnuts. I’ve altered them slightly and created two different versions.
The first is a rich hazelnut shortbread cookie…with chocolate chips! I mean, could it get any more delicious? These cookies are quite delicate, but they have the most wonderful flavour, and they simply melt in your mouth!
The second is more of your classic crunchy cookie. This was achieved by switching some of the butter for milk. This one is also choc-chip, but I used almonds instead of hazelnuts. Because these cookies have milk in them they spread more.
Quite honestly, I couldn’t tell you which one I prefer, they are both quite delicious! For this reason, I decided to include both variations so that you can see which one you like better.
How to Make the Cookies
Making the Cookie Dough
To make both cookies, you start off chopping up the nuts. You can use just almonds, just hazelnuts, or you could try a mix.
To chop up the nuts, place them in a food processor with a blade attachment and process until they are coarsely chopped, about 20 seconds. Don’t overdo it and turn them into powder, you still want to get nice nutty chunks in your cookies. Place the chopped nuts into a separate bowl.
Next, change the food processor attachment to a plastic blade. Place into the food processor the cake flour, cornflour, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt. Give the dry ingredients a quick mix, then add in the butter and vanilla essence. Process until the dough just comes together, don’t overwork it.
If you’re going for the classic crunchy cookies, simply sub 100g of the butter for 100g/ ½ cup milk. Add the milk after the butter has been mixed in and the mixture is fine and crumbly.
If you do not have a food processor you can also do it by hand .
Add in the chopped nuts and chocolate and mix until just combined. Divide the dough into 4-6 pieces and roll into sausage shapes about 3cm in diameter.
An important thing to note whilst making the dough is that you want to handle it as little as possible to avoid the cookies spreading like mad in the oven.
Making the Chocolate Coating
Place an egg white into a small bowl and mix the sugar and cocoa powder in a dish or on a plate.
Using a brush, brush the rolls of cookie dough with egg white all around then roll them in the cocoa powder and sugar mixture, coating them completely. You may have to make more of the cocoa mixture if it runs out.
Once the rolls are coated, wrap them in clingfilm and place them in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
Cooking the Cookies
Preheat oven to 165°C. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
Once the cookie rolls are firm, remove them from the fridge and cut across the roll, creating 0.5cm-1cm thick coins. Place these on the baking sheet leaving 0.5 – 1 cm gaps in between.
The cookies will need to cook for around 15 minutes, or until golden. One sees a better colour change with the more classic crunchy cookies, while the shortbread cookies stay quite light.
Storing the Cookies
Once the cookies are completely cool, pack them into an airtight container where they will keep well for a couple of weeks.
If you are giving them away as gifts, pack them into plastic bags and seal them well. You can also do what I did and sew little bags to put around the plastic bags to make them look prettier. Adding little handmade labels can also up your cookie package.
For cookies without nuts you should definitely give my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies a go.
These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are packed full of the most irresistible flavours. This reliable recipe is so easy to make that it will soon become a firm favourite. Cookie Dough Place the nuts in a food processor with a blade attachment and process until they are coarsely chopped, about 20 seconds. Don’t overdo it and turn them into powder, you still want to get nice nutty chunks in your cookies. Place the chopped nuts into a separate bowl. Change the food processor attachment to a plastic blade. Place into the food processor the cake flour, cornflour, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt. Give the dry ingredients a quick mix, then add in the butter and vanilla essence. Process until the dough just comes together, don’t overwork it. Alternatively, you can rub the butter in using your fingertips if you do not have a food processor. Add in the chopped nuts and chocolate and mix just until they are just mixed in. Divide the dough into 4-6 pieces and roll into sausage shapes about 3cm in diameter. Chocolate Coating Place the egg white into a small bowl. Mix the sugar and cocoa powder in a dish or plate. Using a brush, brush the rolls of cookie dough with egg white then roll them in the cocoa powder and sugar mixture, coating them completely. You may have to make more of the cocoa mixture if it runs out. Once the rolls are coated, wrap them in clingfilm and place them in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or until firm. Cooking the Cookies Preheat oven to 165°C. Line a large baking with baking parchment. Once the cookie rolls are firm, remove them from the fridge and cut across the roll, creating 0.5cm-1cm thick coins. Once the cookies are completely cool, pack them into an airtight container where they will keep well for a couple of weeks. * This recipe makes a shortbread cookie. For a less rich, more classic crunchy cookie, sub 100g of the butter for 100g/½ cup cold milk. Add it after the vanilla essence and butter have been mixed in, and the mixture resembles fine crumbs. **If you're not a great fan of chocolate (weird!), you can definitely leave it out.
Cookies with Hazelnut & Chocolate
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