Today, I’m giving you a recipe for cookies made with real, simple, natural HEALTHY ingredients. SO many basic adjectives, so much cookie goodness.
This is for all of my nutella lovers; I know who you are. Well not exactly, but I do know what it’s like to have a nut butter obsession. The kind that makes it difficult to buy a jar because you can’t stop at one spoonful, or two, or even four. I need a NBSG (nut butter support group).
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In my opinion, these cookies magically taste very similar to nutella except you don’t have to go out and buy a jar so that you have to worry about drowning in a sea of chocolate ecstasy with a side of guilt.
The truth is when I thought about these cookies, I was determined to track down some hazelnuts (thank you Trader J’s). Of course if you didn’t know, Nutella is made up of beautiful toasty hazelnuts. All you’ll need to do in this recipe is toast your hazelnuts in the oven for 10 minutes before making it into a creamy nut butter.
Of course instead of using refined sugar in my dough, I opted to use unrefined coconut sugar, which still contains many nutritious minerals and is all natural. There isn’t much else in these cookies: eggs, cocoa powder and chunks of dark chocolate for good melty measure.
Best ingredient though? Love.
You can call them healthy nutella cookies but since I actually didn’t use any nutella, I opted for double chocolate hazelnut. Regardless of the name, they are amazing, chewy and easy to whip up. Plus, you get to add sea salt on top, and you know how I feel about that. AMAZINGGGGG.
If you make these be sure to snap a pic and tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram so I can see how they turn out for you! xo.
More gluten free desserts to try:
Damn Good Paleo Chocolate Chunk Tahini Cookies
The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies You’ll Ever Eat
Healthier Flourless Monster Cookies
Ambitious Kitchen
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Flourless Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies with Sea Salt {grain free, gluten free, paleo}
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw hazelnuts (or about 1 cup hazelnut butter or almond butter if you prefer)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 oz your favorite dark chocolate bar, chopped (at least 72%, with no soy)
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Evenly spread hazelnuts onto a large baking sheet. Toast the hazelnuts in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Keep heat in the oven.
- Transfer hazelnuts to the bowl of a food processor and process for 10-15 minutes or until it turns into a hazelnut butter; you'll probably have to scrape down the sides frequently. We want this to be very creamy so make sure to get it that way. Once it starts to get creamy, add in a teaspoon of coconut oil and the salt and process again for another minute or two.
- Let the nut butter sit for 5-10 minutes until it cools down a bit. This is important so don't forget to do it! Otherwise you'll end up with a cooked egg.
- Add in the coconut sugar, vanilla, egg, and an extra egg yolk. Process again until well combined and a dough begins to form. Next add in cocoa powder and baking soda, and process again. The dough may become a large ball, so if that happens just transfer the dough to a medium bowl and use a wooden spoon to stir it all together until well combined. Next stir in chopped chocolate.
- Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on cookie sheet and flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. I like to flatten mine pretty thin.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes then remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 18 cookies.
The ingredients list baking soda but it is not mentioned in the instructions, so my cookies were made without it. The cookies are just “okay”. They are very crispy on the outside and softer on the inside. Would the baking soda have made a difference? The cookies did not rise at all from when I put them in the oven. If anything, they shrunk a bit.
Thank you for the catch and apologies for the confusion here! I’ve updated the instructions to include the baking soda, which should help the texture a lot.
Tasted amazing; loved the ingredients, especially that we do not need flour for the recipe. However, it took longer to prepare than stated, which might be due to me not being used to cooking/baking. Peeling the skin off the hazelnuts after taking them out of the oven took the most time. All in all, the recipe is delicious, and I would make it again.
I made these with cashew butter and mixed everything up in my stand mixer. They were delicious.
Love it! So glad you enjoyed.
I just wanted to say that although these are phenomenal cookies, the instructions don’t include when to add the baking soda and I forgot to add it and now I have very sad cookies! I am so bummed these gem of a cookies didn’t turn out! 🙁
Thank you for the catch and sorry about that, Krista! I’ve updated the instructions here. Hope you’re able to give them another try!
These were amazing! Husband said they would win a baking contest and even the picky son liked them. I did substitute cashews for the hazelnuts and brown sugar for the coconut sugar because that’s what I had. Thank you!
Amazing! Happy to hear that.
For those of you that have the hazelnut butter turn out very liquidy, like it did with mine, I recommend adding about 1/2 to 1 cup of additional nut flour (almond or hazelnut). Mine turned out great this way. I also put the dough in the freezer for about 10 minutes before shaping the cookies. They are my favorite cookie. Reminds me of Nutella for sure, but so much healthier. Thanks for the recipe.
Perfect! Glad you loved these 🙂
Ugh, just made these and they came out extremely crumbly. I noticed that you have baking soda listed in the ingredients but I don’t see where to add it. I realized this at the end and added it in before baking but the dough was already really crumbly. I’d like to make this again sometime as I’m a big Nutella fan. Any advice on what to add to the crumbly dough before baking to make it smoother and less crumbly? Thanks!
Hey Andrea! I’d suggest adding another egg – that should do the trick.
Mine also cm out very oily and flat. Maybe some of us were too generous with the hazelnuts?
I’ve heard that from a couple of people and I’m not 100% sure how it happens! This recipe has worked for me even when the dough is a bit oily before baking.
hi,
I would like to ask, the cookie is it crispy or a bit chewable?
Sometime the dough turns out perfect with light fluffy cookied. Other times to much oil starts coming out and the cook different. They end up more like crumble and look weird. Any tips on how to keep too much oil from coming out. I have noticed a double batch works better sometimes. Over processing in food processor? I keep it cold the entire time and dont let the dough get hot. Any suggestions would be great. Its an expensive oops when it doesn’t turn out. But when the tuen out well these arw the best cookies ever.
Hmm that’s tough because I don’t have an answer. I always have success when I bake the dough immediately after mixing. You can also try using pre-made hazelnut butter.
These cookies are INSANE. They taste like a fudgey cookie/brownie. I used 1 cup of almond butter. SO GOOD! Thanks for the recipe!
What food processor do you use to make the hazelnut butter? When I make nut butters in the Vitamix I have to use more oil than called for in this recipe.
Hi Monique! Just wanted to say thank you for these recipes- they have really been a lifesaver! I’ve been paleo for the last six years, and I have tried many (bad) dessert recipes! Yours all seem to be amazing!! Thank you!
Hi Monique,
Thank you for your great recipes ,I just had a question about the recipe above.
My cookies turned out just so hard I could hardly break them with my hands I think the dough was too oily,you wrote it will be a bit oily though ,I was looking at the cookies in the oven as they were cooking but they seemed like they were frying in oil,there was abnormally too much oil in the baking sheet!
I did every thing according to your recipe but I think my hazelnut butter was too smooth for this recipe maybe this caused so much oil and the hardness of the cookies?
They were delicious and ate them all but for next time I would rather bake a softer batch of these heavenly ones.
Mine turned out the same way…oily and crumbly dough and when cooked, very hard and not soft or chewy at all. I wondered if I even chopped the chocolate too finely in the food processor or made the cookies too small. I also reduced the coconut sugar by a 1/2 cup because I used Ghiradelli sweetened cocoa powder and that’s what the package directed me to do. Any suggestions for next time?
egg/egg yolk is dairy!
They aren’t! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/14/eggs-not-dairy-are-they_n_5976814.html
???
I had the cookies on the sheet when I realized I forgot to add the baking soda! It is listed in the ingredients but not indicated when to add to the dough. No worries, they were still delicious, just a bit dense. My kids ate them up! Thanks for another great recipe!
These look fantastic! I am a huge supporter of nutella, but have tried tried to quit my addiction since I started eating healthier. This sounds like the perfect recipe for me!
I am bit late to the party but I made these and used some almond hazelnut butter (1 cup, as suggested in a comment) in stead of making the butter myself. I also replaced the egg and egg yolk with two tablespoons of ground chia seeds and 6 tablespoons of water (allergy to eggs). I was not sure if it would work out but it was great and everyone loved them!
I made these with a couple of adjustments based off of what I had on hand, but they were so good! I probably can’t make them again since I can’t be stopped from eating them all on the first day 🙂
These look amazing! I recently fell in love with coconut sugar, can’t wait to try these!
They are scrumptious! Just made a batch yesterday evening and oh my god, the smell, the taste and the hazelnut hint! Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Though I didn’t use coconut sugar as I didn’t have any when I made then, so I used regular unrefined cane sugar! I’ll try to use cane sugar for the next batch!
Monique, do you think these can be adapted with fruit or other stuff instead of cocoa? Or maybe have you tried adapting the recipe? 🙂 Thank you!
I think you could use 2/3 cup of oats instead of cocoa powder. I’m not sure about the whole fruit idea. Unless you mean instead of the chocolate chunks?
The oats sound great, I’ll try that soon! I meant instead of the cocoa powder and the chocolate chunks yeah like fruit alternatives. 🙂
That melted chocolate is just CALLING my name! Love seeing classics with a healthier take. Gives me hope for that mega life-changing diet that I need to get started on 😀
Just made these and they are amazing!!.. Easy to make and taste so decadent. Nothing better than chocolate, hazelnut and sea salt! Great recipe
Hazelnut is my fav!! Can’t wait to make these, and I love that you’re doing more paleo recipes!
The cookie queen strikes again! Thanks for sparing us the nutella guilt, the NBSG should give you a medal 🙂
I AGREE!
Totally a nutella lovers cookie! Love the hazelnut flour!
I cannot get over how good these look, I have to make them soon. I love the chocolate/hazelnut combo, it is such a classic. Pinned!
You had me at NBSG (nut butter support group). LOL! It’s the most addictive concoction on the planet. These cookies look amazing. Can’t wait to try them.
I love hazelnuts and chocolate together, but have always found Nutella way too sweet. So I am excited to try these!
These look rich & satisfying. I love hazelnuts and chocolate together, mmm.
I’m all for the NBSG (:
Okay I think I’m in love! As a gf cookie and hazelnut enthusiast these are exactly what are needed. Thanks for another great recipe. xx
i love the flavor of hazelnuts, but i tend to not use them because i don’t like dealing with the skin. is it okay to keep the skin on here, or it is necessary to take it off? these sound so good i’ll probably make them regardless, though i’d much rather cut down on work if i can (:
Yes, you keep the skin on!
The skins are bitter so the flavor may not be as good. There is an easier way to skin, though the nuts are a little soft (wet) on the outside, but I don’t think that would matter here. Bring a pot to boil with a liter of water (expand this formula as needed); when boiling add 3 tablespoons baking soda (watch out it will foam up.) Add the hazelnuts, boil for 3 minutes. Water will be very discolored (and so will your dishtowels so use old ones). Drain and and place for a minute in cold water. Drain. You may need to rub them just a bit to get any stuck skin off.
You Have an asterisk next to the coconut sugar but no comment that I can find. Is there something I should know?
Only that if you want you can use brown sugar or maple sugar if coconut sugar isn’t an option for you.
This is crayyyyyyyyyyyy! No flour, no butter, no dairy?!?!?! Well they DEFINITELY look like the opposite 😉 Monique, you’re a baking wizard!
What is total quantity of hazelnut butter we need to use, if I can already get ready made hazelnut butter?
Hi Jenny! It can be pretty difficult to find hazelnut butter without any ingredients besides the nuts. That being said, if you can find it I would suggest using about 1 cup. I haven’t tried it this way so I’m not 100% positive your cookies would turn out. Please do let me know if you try it!