Thin and crispy hazelnut cookies sandwiched with decadent, rich dark chocolate ganache, this hazelnut and chocolate cookie recipe is one such recipe that will make you fall in love with homemade sandwich cookies for sure.
One of the main reasons I love baking cookies is that they are so easy to experiment with. With minimal ingredients and few add-ons, you can create a whole new cookie flavor altogether.
The hazelnut cookies are also a result of an experiment where I planned to make thin cookies using hazelnut flour and sandwich them with a simple yet delicious truffle ganache. The outcome was definitely amazing enough for me to share the recipe with you all.
Making sandwich cookies at home gives you the freedom to create your version of different flavors. Also, when you successfully make these at home, there is no turning back. I have literally stopped buying any sandwich cookies from the market; instead, I make them at home, especially the hazelnut chocolate ones, as I love this combination a lot.
Eggless Hazelnut Cookies Recipe Video Tutorial
Why You’ll Love This Recipe?
- Flavor: Anyone who is a fan of chocolate and hazelnut would definitely love this cookie. And for those who aren’t, well, be assured you’ll start liking this flavor combination. The subtle flavor of hazelnut with intense Belgian chocolate ganache is absolutely lip-smacking.
- Fun to Make: Sandwich cookies are too fun to make. I enjoy making these thin and snappy cookies and filling them with a smooth cream. Trust me, they may sound like a bit of work, but you will surely enjoy every moment of assembling these cookies.
- Homemade Sandwich Cookies: I know how much kids and even the grown-ups love gobbling the cream cookies, especially with hot beverages like milk, tea, and coffee. And once you start making sandwich cookies at home, I’m sure you would no longer like to buy them from the market. These cookies are authentic, packed with flavors, and easy to make. As a baker, I would always prefer making my own stuff than buying anything from stores.
Important Ingredients Used In The Recipe
- All-purpose flour and Hazelnut flour: I have used the combination of all-purpose flour along with hazelnut flour to provide the appropriate texture and structure needed. For the hazelnut flavor to stand out, I have roasted the hazelnut flour.
- Unsalted Butter: Using soft unsalted butter helps to whip it better. The temperature of butter is vital in cookie making as it affects the final outcome. Using unsalted butter gives the liberty to add salt as per our taste.
- Brown sugar: With brown sugar, the color, texture, and taste of the cookie- all get affected. It helps give the cookies caramelized flavor, moisture, softness, and a little brown color.
- Dark chocolate: For making the ganache filling, I have used dark couverture chocolate ( 46.5% dark). I love the flavor Belgian chocolate provides, so I try to incorporate it in as many recipes as I can. If you wish to use compound chocolate, you can do so.
- Hazelnuts: For the garnish, crushed hazelnuts are added on the top. This provides a great nutty flavor and texture to the cookies.
How To Make Eggless Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies
Preparation: Get all the ingredients ready to make the hazelnut cookies. Preheat the oven to 170C (OTG mode: upper rod + lower rod + fan) for 10-15 minutes. Also, line a baking tray with a perforated mat to provide some texture to the cookies. If you do not have the perforated mat, you can use a silicone mat.
Method For Hazelnut Cookies
Mix Butter and Sugar: In a bowl, take softened unsalted butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla essence to it and give this a mix. We are not creaming it here, so do not mix too much.
Add Dry Ingredients: Now, add all-purpose flour, roasted hazelnut flour and salt. Combine everything together to form a dough. You can mix using your hands if you want.
Shaping: Once the dough is ready, roll it out on butter paper. Keep the thickness to 5mm. After rolling, use a 4cm flower cookie cutter to cut out the cookies from the dough.
Bake: Place the shaped cookies on a lined baking tray and bake them at 170C (OTG mode: upper rod + lower rod + fan) for 12-15 minutes.
Method For Chocolate Filling
Melt Chocolate: Take chopped couverture chocolate in a bowl and melt it using a microwave. Stir the chocolate in between to ensure even heat distribution.
Warm Cream: Warm the fresh cream in the microwave in another bowl. Do not boil the cream.
Make Ganache: Add warm cream to the melted chocolate and stir continuously to mix the two thoroughly. You should get a smooth ganache. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag.
Method For Assembly
Make Sandwiches: Once the cookies have cooled completely, take one cookie and turn it upside down. Pipe a generous blob of ganache in the middle and place another cookie on top. Press the cookie so that the gap spreads to the edges. Repeat the same for the rest of the cookies.
Garnish: Take some tempered dark chocolate in a piping bag and drizzle it on one side of the cookie. Sprinkle crushed hazelnuts over it to garnish.
Chef’s Tips For The Recipe
Tip For Shaping
Be careful when rolling the dough and shaping it. Make sure it’s rolled evenly with the required thickness. If they are rolled too thin, they will break, and if rolled too thick, they will feel bulky as a sandwich.
Variations
You may use milk chocolate ganache if you want in place of dark chocolate. For the ganache, you may have to use more milk chocolate as it’s more fluid than dark chocolate. We have used a 2:1 ratio for dark ganache; for milk, you will have to use at least a 2.5 or 3:1 ratio.
How To Store Eggless Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies?
Assembled cookies must be stored in an airtight box at room temperature and consumed within 3-4 days.
You can keep baked cookies (not sandwiched) separately for up to 10 days in an air-tight box. The ganache should be kept in the refrigerator for 3- 5 days.
If you have leftover cookie dough, you can store that as well. Cling wrap it and keep it in the refrigerator for a month or in the freezer for two months.
More Easy Recipes
Check the variety of cookies from our blog, which you will live eating
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can replace the brown sugar in the recipe with castor sugar in the same quantity. However, the color, texture, and flavor will change as well.
If you like hazelnut flavor, then yes, you can add a few drops of hazelnut essence, too. Be careful not to add too much, as that will not taste good.
You can either fine-grind hazelnuts or use that powder. If that is also not possible, then you can replace it with all-purpose flour and add hazelnut essence to it.
You can use Nutella as a filling. You can add some flavor to the ganache, like coffee, which goes well with hazelnut and chocolate.
Although, my recommendation would be to use butter for authentic flavor. But you can use shortening if you want. Use 80% of the butter quantity as shortening is pure 100% fat.
I wouldn’t suggest to use oil as the butter we are using is in solid(softened) form. Oil is liquid, and replacing soft butter with oil will alter the dough and cookie.
Yes, you can! Simply bake and serve them as you like.
To make a different cookie altogether, you can replace the hazelnut flour with almond flour in the same quantity.
