Rich Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

A community recipe by SeaSkyCakeKids

Not tested or verified by Nigella.com

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Introduction

Hazelnuts aren't a casual addition to these rich chocolate chip cookies - they are big and bossy and aromatic, lending texture to the dough and a chunky crunch to an otherwise soft mouthful. I should warn you that the baked cookies will need to sit for 5 minutes on the baking tray before they'll move to a cooling rack without falling apart. It would be a terrible shame to find your fingers covered in a hot, sweet, nutty, chocolatey goo...

Ingredients

Makes: around 20 cookies

Metric Cups

200 grams hazelnuts
150 grams unsalted butter
75 grams caster sugar
75 grams dark brown muscovado sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150 grams plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
salt
150 grams dark chocolate chips roughly chopped

7 ounces hazelnuts
5⅓ ounces unsalted butter
2⅔ ounces superfine sugar
2⅔ ounces dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5⅓ ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
salt
5⅓ ounces bittersweet chocolate chips roughly chopped

Method

Rich Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies is a community recipe submitted by SeaSkyCakeKids and has not been tested by Nigella.com so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan on a medium heat. Let them cool a little so that they are handleable.
Take half of the toasted hazelnuts, skins and all, and whizz them to a fine crumb in a food processor.
Remove the skins from the remaining hazelnuts by rubbing a handful at a time into your palms. The skins will simply slip off and can be discarded.
Put the skinned hazelnuts into a food bag and give them a quick bash to break them up into big chunks (or chop them roughly if you prefer; personally I find the bashing cathartic).
Cream the butter and sugars together until soft and coffee-coloured.
Beat in the egg and vanilla essence.
Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and ground hazelnuts and combine to form a lovely soft dough.
Mix in the smashed hazelnut pieces and chocolate chunks.
Tip the dough onto a wide, long sheet of clingfilm and form it into a log shape, wrapping as you go. Once the log is completely wrapped, pop it in the freezer.
When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Take the log out of the freezer and set it on a chopping board for 5 minutes – just enough time to make it possible for a knife to be pushed through it but not so long that the whole log defrosts unless you are making the full batch at once.
Carefully, because the dough will be very stiff, and with a thick, sharp knife, cut 1cm slices from the log and lay them on a non-stick or lined baking sheet. Leave plenty of space between the cookies as they will spread in the oven.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are just –and no more – starting to darken and the centre still looks soft. Leave the cookies on the hot tray for another 5 minutes and then slide a palette knife under them and move them onto a cooling rack.
And give yourself a pat on the back for every cookie that you don’t eat directly off the baking sheet.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan on a medium heat. Let them cool a little so that they are handleable.
Take half of the toasted hazelnuts, skins and all, and whizz them to a fine crumb in a food processor.
Remove the skins from the remaining hazelnuts by rubbing a handful at a time into your palms. The skins will simply slip off and can be discarded.
Put the skinned hazelnuts into a food bag and give them a quick bash to break them up into big chunks (or chop them roughly if you prefer; personally I find the bashing cathartic).
Cream the butter and sugars together until soft and coffee-coloured.
Beat in the egg and vanilla essence.
Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and ground hazelnuts and combine to form a lovely soft dough.
Mix in the smashed hazelnut pieces and chocolate chunks.
Tip the dough onto a wide, long sheet of clingfilm and form it into a log shape, wrapping as you go. Once the log is completely wrapped, pop it in the freezer.
When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Take the log out of the freezer and set it on a chopping board for 5 minutes – just enough time to make it possible for a knife to be pushed through it but not so long that the whole log defrosts unless you are making the full batch at once.
Carefully, because the dough will be very stiff, and with a thick, sharp knife, cut 1cm slices from the log and lay them on a non-stick or lined baking sheet. Leave plenty of space between the cookies as they will spread in the oven.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are just –and no more – starting to darken and the centre still looks soft. Leave the cookies on the hot tray for another 5 minutes and then slide a palette knife under them and move them onto a cooling rack.
And give yourself a pat on the back for every cookie that you don’t eat directly off the baking sheet.