Vegan Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Paleo vegan flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies that are every bit as delicious as a spoonful of Nutella and made with 6 real and simple ingredients!
Cookies that are flourless? And taste like Nutella? Well, you better believe it, because these flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies are REAL and they’re freaking delicious.
I remember when I first became obsessed with the delicious combination of chocolate and hazelnut. My mom had become friends with a Dutch woman in town, who also had a daughter my age (roughly 7 or 8 at the time). We all quickly became friends, parents and kids, and one day, I was over to their house for a playdate.
For a snack, she made us little Nutella sandwiches! I was so confused at first…where’s the peanut butter?! But the first bite was wow, and ever since then I was hooked!
Now, in regular Nutella (the American version), the ingredients are a little scary. These flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies are quite the opposite, though the taste is all there- and more!
These cookies are full of healthy fats, completely gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, and they’re vegan! I promised you I would come up with a vegan cookie for the holidays 😉
Now if you’re like me, you’re probably confused as to how these flourless chocolate bites of deliciousness stay together. I did some research on flourless chocolate cakes and cookies just to get an idea of how everything worked. What I found was that they’re typically all powdered sugar and egg white. Not exactly vegan, right?
So I accepted the challenge of making a low in sugar, yet deliciously decadent vegan cookie that was completely flour-free. Not even a paleo or gluten-free sub in there! To be honest, it was a little tricky at first, but then I realized moisture is your best friend! By the second round, I had it!
These flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies call for only a few main ingredients: raw hazelnuts (whole), cacao powder, maple syrup or coconut sugar, and the real kicker: ground chia seed. Now, I believe that you can make your own ground chia seed, but I’ve never done so, so I stick with either Nutiva or Salbachia- they’re my absolute favorite brands!
Tips & Tricks:
The best (and easiest) part of these cookies is that they’re only made in one bowl. Well, food processor. Because you’re going to need to chop up the hazelnuts somehow! The trick here is that you’re going to stop the process of grinding the hazelnuts halfway through if you’d like to top them with melted chocolate and hazelnut crumbs like I did. Then you continue the blending process until it’s a thick and smooth hazelnut butter.
The rest of the process just includes throwing all of the ingredients in the processor post hazelnut butter and blending until it’s a sticky and thick dough! Perfect flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies, I see you 😉 Then you roll into small dough balls, flatten lightly with a spoon and bake! Easy enough, right?
Vegan Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: baked goods
- Cuisine: American
Description
Paleo vegan flourless chocolate hazelnut cookies that are every bit as delicious as a spoonful of Nutella and made with 6 real and simple ingredients!
Ingredients
- 16 oz raw hazelnuts (skin removed)
- 2/3 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (can use maple syrup)
- 2 tbsp ground chia seed + 1/3 cup warm water (let sit for 5 minutes)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean powder or extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Optional:
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (for outside coating)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with tin foil.
- Roll hazelnuts onto the baking sheet and roast for about 5-7 minutes, just until they start to become aromatic.
- Remove hazelnuts from the oven and place into your food processor.
- Process until the nuts are lightly crushed, then pause and remove about 1/2 cup of crushed nuts. Set aside and begin blending the hazelnuts again until it’s a creamy butter.
- Once it’s a creamy butter, place the remaining ingredients in (except for the chocolate chips), and blend until it’s a thick and sticky dough.
- Roll into small dough balls and lightly press the top with the back of a spoon to flatten on a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil. These cookie dough balls don’t spread too much on their own, so don’t be afraid!
- Bake for about 10 minutes and let cool.
Optional chocolate coating:
- While the cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for about 1 minute, pausing and stirring occasionally.
- Once the cookies are cooled, place the on a piece of parchment paper and lightly spoon a little chocolate onto half of each cookie and spread.
- Sprinkle hazelnut crumbs on top and enjoy!
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