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Hazelnut shortbread cookies recipe - perfect for the Holidays! These Christmas cookies have a perfect texture - crumbly and buttery, they just melt in your mouth.
This recipe is ridiculously easy: only 5 ingredients. The hazelnut cookies are phenomenal! You'd be thinking you're eating a very special cookie, and not something that you just whipped up in 20 minutes. Of course, in a large part, we have to thank hazelnuts for the deliciousness of this recipe - they really make these shortbread cookies so ... what's the word? ... hazelnutty. Dusted with powdered sugar they become perfection.
Your Christmas cookie tray is not complete without these hazelnut cookies. It is also not complete without pecan shortbread cookies, or amaretto shortbread cookies, or cranberry noels.
The cookies have the consistency of crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, with a distinctive hazelnut flavor. Perfect to serve as a little dessert alongside a cup of coffee, tea, or a glass of milk. It's a highly unassuming cookie, very easy to make - just make sure to chill the dough before baking, and you should be all set. Also, the cookie dough wrapped in plastic wrap can be kept frozen up to a month.
4.70 from 96 votes
Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe
These hazelnut shortbread cookies are perfect for your Christmas cookie box. The cookies have the consistency of crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, with a distinctive hazelnut flavor.
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 30 cookies
Calories per serving 63 kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup hazelnuts (2 oz)
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 oz unsalted butter , cold, cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
Toast raw hazelnuts at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Cool the nuts to room temperature, then husk them by rubbing a handful of hazelnuts between your hands. This should do a pretty good job of getting rid of most of the skins. Some will remain – that’s OK.
To make finely ground nuts, place toasted and husked hazelnuts and ¼ cup sugar into food processor and process until finely ground.
Add ¾ cup and 2 tablespoons of flour and a pinch of salt to the food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and process until dough forms, scraping the sides of the food processor bowl with spatula if necessary. The dough will be soft.
On a flour-dusted surface, roll dough into 2 logs, each about 1 inch wide. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and place wrapped cookie dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, then in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit.
After cookie dough has been in the freezer and in the refrigerator, unwrap plastic and slice each log into thin cookie slices.
Place cookie slices on a parchment-lined ungreased baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes, don’t let the cookies get brown.
Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes, after that transfer cookies to wire rack to continue cooling. Using sifter, sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar.
Store cookies in airtight container – they can last about 2 weeks.
Notes
The recipe is adapted from Epicurious
Nutrition
Nutrition Information
Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
63
% Daily Value*
Fat
4
g
6
%
Saturated Fat
13
%
Cholesterol
8
mg
3
%
Potassium
16
mg
%
Carbohydrates
5
g
2
%
Sugar
2
g
2
%
Vitamin A
95
IU
2
%
Vitamin C
0.2
mg
%
Calcium
4
mg
%
Iron
0.3
mg
2
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Keyword hazelnut cookies, holiday shortbread cookies, shortbread cookies
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Larry“They can last for a week.”
Are you kidding?
In my house these last a day at the most.
Thank you for the great recipe.Reply
- Julia
Ha-ha-ha! Larry, you made me laugh really hard!
Reply
- Martine
These were easy to make and they were delicious.
Merci beaucoup JuliaReply
- Julia
Martine, so glad you loved these cookies! 🙂
Reply
- Kat
Hi, could I use spelt flour instead of all-purpose?
Reply
- Julia
Kat, yes you can - without changing quantities!
Reply
- Kat
Great, thank you!
Reply
- Julia
Enjoy!
Reply
- Ian
Made in Vitamix and froze dough for 20 minutes. Whipped these up for a late night craving. Super good. Will make again.
Reply
- Julia
Ian, I am so glad the recipe was success!
Reply
- Christie Hume
Hi,
I purchased hazelnut meal instead. Can this be used measuring 2oz of meal and no other adjustments? This recipe looks so yummy.Reply
- Julia
Christie, I think that should work!
Reply
- Desirae
Hi! I also have a bunch of ground hazelnut meal. Did this work in the recipe?
Reply
- Michelle
These did not work for me. I've made a lot of shortbread and worked with tricky doughs, but this was a disaster. No matter how cold the dough was, it crumbled while cutting.
Reply
- Trish
Will love to make this recipe …
I was wondering what’s the amount of butter in cups? Please HELP ME !Reply
- Julia
4 oz of butter is 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons or 1 stick of butter. Hope this helps and enjoy the recipe, it's delicious!
Reply
- Holly
I made these and found out that one stick of butter is 4 ounces
Reply
- Emily
Hi! Could I use a blender instead of a food processor for this recipe? It looks delicious!
Reply
- Amy T
I used a blender. Didn’t work great bc it sticks in the bottom and hard to scrape up bc it’s a stiff dough. I ended up transferring it to finish in my stand mixer. lol. The food processor is the smartest fastest option.
Reply
- Julia
Amy, great feedback! Thank you!
Reply
- Jan Scott
Fantastic recipe, have made it lots of times, just keep logs in the freezer until ready to cook!
Reply
- Julia
Jan, thank you so much for such a generous comment! Glad you've enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
- Nancy Raisanen
One of the best shortbread I've ever made. Now in my recipe box.
Reply
- Julia
Hi all
Anyone have any ideas as to why my biscuit Dough is hard to cut and the biscuit spreads a lot? I am using very chilled dough
Reply
- Jan Scott
Hi, made these and they were so light and buttery and disappeared very quickly. I have a family member who can’t tolerate gluten, could I make using GF flour?
Reply
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