Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

These soft and tender Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies are one of my favorite cookies and one of the first recipes on the blog. Since I first made these shortbread cookies I've learned a lot about what makes a good cookie, so I updated this recipe and the cookies are better than ever. This cookie is buttery and tender with just the right amount of chopped bittersweet chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. These cookies can be made any time of the year, but they are a new favorite for the family Christmas cookie basket.

Why These Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies Will Be Your New Favorite

I first made these for a friend's wedding and her wedding guests adored these chocolate hazelnut shortbread cookies. After seeing how fast they disappeared, I added them to the blog.

These cookies start with my classic shortbread cookie recipe, but since I'm adding chopped chocolate and toasted nuts I also add more butter to help maintain the buttery taste and soft tender texture. The combination of butter, chocolate, and hazelnuts is wonderful and makes these cookies addictive.

When I first made them cookies, I assumed more was better in terms of the chocolate and nuts, but with experience, I learned that you can add too many, so for the revision I reduced the amount of chocolate and hazelnuts. You still have the wonderful flavor of the chocolate and hazelnuts, but the cookie is softer and more tender.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Ingredients

Since this is a basic recipe (not a lot of ingredients), every ingredient counts. Use high-quality butter that tastes good and hazelnuts that have a sweet nutty flavor and a crunchy texture.  

• Bittersweet Chocolate: Bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cocoa) tastes best with the hazelnuts and the buttery deliciousness of the shortbread. Semi-sweet (which is about 55% cocoa) will also work in these cookies
• Hazelnuts: These should be toasted for the best flavor and roughly chopped, not too big and not too small. I use the dry roasted hazelnuts, also known as filberts, from Trader Joe's.  If you don't have a Trader Joe's, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and toast the nuts for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.
• Light Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds a light caramel note and helps keep the cookies soft. Similar to my Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies.
• Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness, creates crisp edges, and helps lightly brown the bottom of the shortbread cookie.

Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

The original recipe called for rolling out the cookies and cutting them using a cookie cutter. I've changed the recipe to a slice-and-bake cookie, in which the dough is rolled into a log, chilled, and sliced. The slice-and-bake method works better for this cookie since it has chopped chocolate and hazelnuts

Step 1: Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer.

Step 2: Mix until creamy with the paddle attachment, then add the egg yolk and vanilla bean paste and mix together.

Step 3: Add all the flour at once. Mix on low speed until all the flour is mixed in.

Step 4: Add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate to the dough and mix until evenly distributed.

The dough should be soft and easy to handle.

Step 5: Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll into two logs about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

Step 6: Wrap each log in wax paper and chill the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

Step 7: Slice the dough log into 1/2-inch thick rounds and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Step 8: Bake the cookies for 17-20 minutes until they're light brown on the bottom

Step 9: Remove the cookies from the oven, cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

These cookies are so good and cookies are my weakness. It's so easy to grab 2, 3, or 4 and much on them as I walk through the house or grab my favorite spot on the couch to watch a movie.  You will definitely enjoy these cookies.

How to Store These Cookies

Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 10 days if they last that long. The brown sugar helps the cookies stay soft for days. See the directions below for freezing baked cookies.

How to Freeze Unbaked Shortbread Cookie Dough

Want to freeze this shortbread dough for later? No problem! I make these every year for my family's Christmas cookie basket. The dough is a cinch to freeze and then right before I assemble the baskets I slice and bake. Here are the steps for freezing the dough.

1. Wrap the cookie dough logs in wax paper and chill in the fridge for 1 hour until firm. 
2. Then, place the wrapped logs in a freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, and seal the bag securely. Freeze the logs flat, as this will help the logs maintain their shape and prevent them from getting squished by other items in your freezer.
3. Label the freezer bag with the date to remind yourself of when they went into the freezer. Shortbread cookie dough can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Other Shortbread Cookie Recipes

If you're looking for other shortbread or cookie recipes check out my other delicious shortbread recipes:

• Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies
• Cranberry and Pistachio Shortbread Cookies
• Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Tips for Making Good Shortbread

Shortbread cookies are easy to make and perfect when you want a little something sweet. But because they have so few ingredients, they’re also easy to mess up. Here are my tips for making delicious shortbread cookies:

• Use great-tasting butter. The butter shines through in these cookies so you want to make sure the butter tastes good. My favorites are Kerrygold and Tillamook.
• Weigh your ingredients. These cookies are based on a 3-2-1 ratio ( by weight) to get that perfect texture and keep their shape. And when you’re spending $6 a pound for butter, a kitchen scale is a good investment to ensure you get it right.
• Don’t overmix the dough. Overmixing develops gluten, which can make your shortbread cookies tough.
• Chill the dough. The great thing about this shortbread cookie recipe is that they don’t require a long chill time to achieve that perfect shape.
• Have fun! If you have fun baking these cookies, you and your friends will love eating them. 

I  hope you try these soft and tender chocolate hazelnut shortbread cookies. If you do make it please rate the recipe below.

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Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

5 from 22 votes

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Chilling: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

This recipe is based on my 3-2-1 shortbread cookie recipe.  I think the combination of hazelnuts and chocolate is great in anything, especially in shortbread.  Go for this recipe when you want the combination of chocolate and nuts and you want it fast.

Servings: 32 cookies

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Cheryl Norris

Ingredients

• ▢ 20 tablespoons (282 grams) unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 1/4 cup 57 grams) dark brown sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup (57 grams) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• ▢ 1 large (20 grams) egg yolk
• ▢ 3 cups (340 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3 ounces (90 grams ) unsalted toasted hazelnuts chopped into small chunks
• ▢ 3 ounces (85 grams) bittersweet chocolate chopped into small chunks
• ▢ Maldon Sea Salt

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Instructions

Make the Cookie Dough

• Chop the hazelnuts into small pieces and set them aside in a small bowl. I use the toasted hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s. If you are using raw hazelnuts, toast the nuts at 350°F (180°C) for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.
• Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Pour the chocolate into a sifter, and sift out the tiny pieces of chocolate. I call this chocolate dust. Leaving out these tiny pieces gives the cookies a nicer appearance. Pour the remaining larger pieces into the same bowl with the hazelnuts.
• Place the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and add the egg yolk and vanilla bean paste. Mix on medium speed until the ingredients is well combined. Scrape down the sides and add all of the flour. Mix on low speed and mix until all the flour is just combined. The dough will first be crumbly but then start to come together. Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix until the dough has completely come together in large clumps. Add the hazelnuts and the chopped chocolate and mix on low speed until they are distributed evenly throughout the dough.
• Turn the cookie dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it into two even pieces, about 440 grams for each piece. Shape each piece into a square.
• Take the first piece of dough and roll it into a cylinder, there may be some cracks. If there are cracks press the dough together and continue to roll it back and forth until it forms a cohesive cylinder. Continue to roll it back and forth until it’s 1-1/2 inches thick and about 9-inches long.
• Wrap the dough in wax paper and twist the ends tight to seal it. One of my tricks to maintain a nice round cylinder is to cut an empty cardboard paper towel roll in half lengthwise. Spread it open and place the cookie dough inside.
• Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and for up to 2 days. Chilling the dough will help the cookies hold their shape when baking.

Bake the Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line a half-sized baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove one cookie dough log from the refrigerator and let it sit on your work surface for 5 minutes. Use a ruler to mark the dough log every 1/2-inch. Cut the dough into rounds. Place 12 pieces on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt if you like your cookies a little salty.
• Bake the cookies for 15-17 minutes. The bottom of the cookies will be lightly golden brown.
• Take the cookies out of the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cookie rack to completely cool.

Store the Cookies

• The cookies can be stored in a container for up to 10 days.

Freezing Unbaked Cookies

• Wrap the cookie dough logs tightly in wax paper and refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until the dough is firm. Once chilled, place the wrapped logs in a freezer-safe bag, press out as much air as possible, and seal the bag securely. Lay the logs flat in the freezer to help them keep their shape and prevent them from being squished by other items.
• Label the freezer bag with the date before storing. The shortbread cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months, making it easy to have cookie dough ready whenever you’re in the mood to bake.

Notes

Weigh the Ingredients. This shortbread cookie recipe works best when flour, sugar and butter are weighed.  Weighing the ingredients will ensure that you are not adding too much flour or too little sugar.  

Use Good Butter. For the best results use good quality butter.  Brands such as Tillamook and Kerrygold work well in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 234IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

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