Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
These Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies combine rich cocoa and buttery dough with a crunchy hazelnut coating and a luscious chocolate hazelnut spread center. Perfectly crisp on the outside and soft inside, these elegant cookies are a delightful treat for any occasion.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes per tray (approx. 16 minutes total)
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 200 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 30 g Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 40 g milk
- 115 g powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Coatings and Filling
- 125 g finely chopped hazelnuts (toasted)
- 100 g chocolate hazelnut spread
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F) with the fan on or 160°C (320°F) if your oven has no fan. Line two large baking trays with baking paper for baking.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, Dutch processed cocoa powder, and salt to evenly distribute the dry components.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate bowl, add the unsalted butter, powdered sugar, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed for about 3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and pale in color.
- Form Cookie Balls: Using about 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie, roll the dough into approximately thirty balls. Using a small ice cream scoop is helpful for even sizing.
- Roll in Hazelnuts: Roll each cookie ball in the finely chopped toasted hazelnuts, ensuring they are well coated. Place the coated balls spaced evenly on the lined baking trays.
- Chill Dough Balls: Transfer the trays to the fridge and chill the dough balls for 1 hour. This step prevents excessive spreading during baking and helps maintain their shape.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies one tray at a time on the middle rack for 8 minutes. Do not flatten or press the cookies before baking; they will naturally flatten and spread in the oven.
- Indent Cookies: As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, use a measuring tablespoon to gently make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Then, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies to carefully reshape their edges. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the trays.
- Fill with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread: Once the cookies are completely cool, fill each indentation with chocolate hazelnut spread using a spoon or piping bag for neatness.
- Set and Serve: Let the filled cookies set completely before serving to ensure the filling is firm and the cookies hold their shape.
Notes
- For best flavor and crunch, toast the hazelnuts by spreading them on a baking tray and roasting at 180°C (355°F) for about 10 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool before chopping.
- Using chilled dough helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
- If you don’t have Dutch processed cocoa powder, you can substitute with natural unsweetened cocoa powder but expect slightly different taste and color.
- To make the filling process easier, chill the chocolate hazelnut spread slightly if it’s too runny.
