Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Sugar Cookies
No-spread chocolate hazelnut cookies that can be used for cut-out decorated cookies, or slice-and-bake cookies.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Resting Time4 hours hrs
Total Time4 hours hrs 35 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate hazelnut cookies, cookies, cut out cookies, decorated cookies, nutella, nutella cookies, roll and cut cookies, shortbread, slice-and-bake, sugar cookies
Servings: 15 cookies
Calories: 240kcal
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tablespoon hazelnut emulsion or extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup hazelnuts finely chopped
- ½ cup good cocoa powder Valrhona if available
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Grind hazelnuts in food processor until the texture is coarse sand.
Whisk dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and hazelnuts) together and set aside.
Cream butter and sugars with paddle attachment, on medium-low speed, until fluffy and pale in color (about 5 minutes).
Add egg and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the paddle with a spatula, and then continue to mix on low speed for another 30 seconds to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
Add dry ingredients, all at once, and mix on low speed just until dough starts to come together and no dry bits remain. Do not overmix.
Turn dough out onto cling wrap, tightly wrap, and refrigerate overnight (or for at least 4 hours).
Knead, roll, cut out cookies, and return to fridge or freezer until firm. Leave a couple inches between cookies.
Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 1-5 minutes until edges are starting to turn golden brown.
Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet before handling.
- Chocolate cookies are a little harder to tell when the edges are darkening, so you can quickly and gently press on the center of a cookie, and if they feel firm, they’re done. If you leave a dent, or they feel squishy, let them bake for a little longer.
- The reason for adding 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch to your dough is to prevent your cookies from shrinking or spreading during baking.
- You want to grind all add-ins (hazelnuts) as fine as possible, comparable to the texture of almond meal or coarse sand. Larger pieces will leave you with jagged cookie edges.
- If making slice-and-bake cookies, split dough in half, roll into logs, wrap tightly in cling wrap or parchment paper, and refrigerate before slicing and baking.
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 397IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg