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Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies (No Sugar)

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies (No Sugar)

Food, Sara's Recipes, VeganDecember 17, 2020

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Indulgent Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies! Easy cookies that are the best for any occasion. The holidays, Christmas, or anytime you might want to bake an easy and delicious vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free cookie. The perfect guilt-free treat #christmascookies #vegan #glutenfree #veganrecipes #christmasrecipes #cookierecipes #sugarfree 
Indulgent Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies! Easy cookies that are the best for any occasion. The holidays, Christmas, or anytime you might want to bake an easy and delicious vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free cookie. The perfect guilt-free treat #christmascookies #vegan #glutenfree #veganrecipes #christmasrecipes #cookierecipes #sugarfree 

THESE SOFT, DECADENT, CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT COOKIES ARE MADE WITH WHOLE NATURAL INGREDIENTS: A GUILT-FREE TREAT THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO STOP EATING

Top view of Chocolate Hazelnut cookies: vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free

I wanted to make something special as a Christmas gift this year, to give to family and friends.

And everyone loves Christmas cookies!

But as I am trying to eat much healthier than ever before, I was looking for something without refined sugar, that only used whole natural ingredients.

3/4 view of delicious chocolate hazelnut cookies

Inspired by my vegan chocolate amaretti, made with almond flour, I decided to try a cookie with ground hazelnuts.

And one of my favorite combinations, since I was a child, is chocolate and hazelnut (Nutella anyone?). So I thought I should take inspiration from this indulgent combination.

The toasted rich nutty flavor of hazelnut mixed with chocolate is something out of this world. And these cookies are not just perfect for Christmas. They are absolutely delicious to eat all year round.

Chocolate lovers will go crazy for these cookies!

But to make this special treat as healthy as possible, instead of using sugar, like in the original amaretti recipe, I thought: why not using Medjool dates? 

Medjool dates have a rich, almost caramel-like taste and a soft, chewy texture. I thought this would work perfectly with the dark cocoa powder and ground hazelnut.

Chocolate hazelnut cookies: the perfect cookies to bake for Christmas

And I am happy to report, I wasn’t wrong.

These chocolate hazelnut cookies are simply delicious: if you like chocolate AND hazelnuts, you can’t go wrong. Plus, they take such a little time and effort, and they look spectacular. 

They are not extremely cheap (as they are pretty much 95% hazelnuts and dates), but they are the perfect festive treat.

They are vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

Chocolate hazelnut cookies: the perfect cookies to bake for Christmas

So what are the ingredients of these chocolate hazelnut cookies?

These flourless, refined sugar-free cookies contain only:

  • Chopped and ground hazelnuts: I used organic whole hazelnuts, but you can use hazelnut flour if you want. I find that grinding my own hazelnuts results in a much nicer texture and deeper flavor.
  • Cocoa powder: I used organic raw cocoa powder, but any dark, vegan cocoa powder will work. 
  • Medjool dates: these dates are much softer than normal dates. When you grind them in the food processor, they dissolve into a chewy caramel-like paste. That’s what makes them perfect for sweetening these cookies.

How to prepare sugar free chocolate hazelnut biscuits: ingredients, ground the hazelnuts, chop the dates to a paste, mix with the chocolate

  • Ground flaxseeds: ground flax seeds are a crucial part of vegan baking. You can use them to make flax eggs to substitute chicken eggs.
  • Water: to bind the ingredients together.
  • A pinch of salt
chocolate hazelnut cookies with chopped hazelnuts

And if you want to make these cookies as a Christmas gift, I think packing them in a lovely wooden box will make them extra special.

I used:

  • Gold star sprinkles
  • Mini laser-cut Christmas ornaments
  • Brown and white twine
  • Wooden box (or you could also use a Weck jar)

And if you are looking for more chocolaty gifts this year, check out this incredibly creamy hot chocolate mix.

Chocolate Hazelnut cookies in a Christmas box

Close up of chocolate hazelnut cookies
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies (Sugar-Free)

These soft, decadent, chocolate hazelnut cookies are made with whole natural ingredients: a guilt-free treat that you won't be able to stop eating.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time25 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate hazelnut cookies, hazelnut cookies, sugar free cookies, Vegan Christmas Cookies
Servings: 10 cookies
Calories: 135kcal
Author: Sara @ Gathering Dreams

Ingredients

  • 1 cup ground hazelnuts
  • 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts
  • 1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates
  • 2 tablespoon  cacao powder 
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • A pinch of fine sea salt

1 flax egg

  • 1  tablespoon  ground flax seeds
  • 3  tablespoon  water
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 160°C/320F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  • Make the flax eggs: add the ground flax seeds and water to a dish and stir. Let it rest for 5 minutes to thicken.
  • Take 1 cup (150 g) of hazelnuts and grind them into a coarse powder in a food processor. Don't worry if you get some bigger chunks. They will just add extra texture to the cookies. Set aside the ground hazelnuts in a mixing bowl.
  • In the same food processor, grind the Medjool dates into a paste, by adding 1 tablespoon of water and the flax egg.
  • Chop the remaining 1/3 cup (50 g) of hazelnuts in chunkier pieces and spread them onto a tray.
  • In a big mixing bowl, combine the ground hazelnuts, date paste, salt, and cacao powder. Mix it all well to bind all the ingredients together and produce a thick, sticky paste that can be formed into sticky balls in your hands.
  • Divide the dough into 10 equally sized pieces. Roll each portion of dough between the palms of your hands to form a ball. Squash the ball a bit to give it a cookie shape then lightly press each one into the chopped hazelnuts to coat.
  • Place the cookies on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for about 10 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool down before moving them to a plate or airtight container. Be careful as they are quite crumbly when they are hot. Resist the urge to try one warm, as they are much better when they cool down.

Notes

  • Nutritional values are per cookie.
  • When you remove the cookies from the oven they will be quite soft. Don’t be tempted to cook them for longer! They will harden while they cool down.
  • You can store these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 week!
  • If you don’t have flax seeds handy, you can also use chia seeds as a substitute. Remember to grind the chia seeds before adding water.
  • If you don’t want to make this recipe vegan but only gluten-free, you can use 1 egg white instead of a flax egg.
  • Special tip: If you want to make this recipe extra special, use toasted hazelnuts for the hazelnuts you are going to grind. And use untoasted hazelnuts for the chopped hazelnuts you will use to coat (as they will toast in the oven).

Nutrition

Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 217mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

Chocolate Hazelnut cookies in a Christmas box

If you try making these chocolate hazelnut cookies, let me know how much you like them!


FIND MORE DELICIOUS COOKIES RECIPES HERE:
The perfect homemade cookies for Christmas! These irresistible vegan, gluten-free chocolate amaretti are super easy to make and taste delicious! 
VEGAN CHOCOLATE AMARETTI COOKIES
25 IRRESISTIBLE VEGAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

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Comments

  1. Not so nutty says

    December 14, 2019 at 6:37 pm

    This looks really pretty. I’m allergic to nuts but know a heap of people who would love this. Just noticed that you have a link to cacao butter but the receipt says cacao powder – which one should it be?

    Reply
    • Sara @ Gathering Dreams says

      December 14, 2019 at 6:42 pm

      You should use cacao powder. Not sure why the link is sending you to cacao butter. I will double check 🙂

      Reply
  2. Diana says

    October 27, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    5 stars
    Oh wow! Wowww! These were so easy to make and soo good!
    Thank you for the recipe!!

    Reply
    • Sara @ Gathering Dreams says

      October 27, 2020 at 8:50 pm

      Glad you liked them, Diana! I made them again yesterday and Dan and I ate them all in one day! Ops!

      Reply

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So today I have something sweet for you my friends! 🤩

It's not Christmas if the house doesn't smell like cookies! 

I love to make these soft, nutty chocolate hazelnut cookies pretty much once a week during the holiday season 🤤

The only problem is that when I bake them they don't last a day!

But if manage to bake them and don't eat them, you can even turn them into a delicious gift! 

What are your favorite cookies to bake for Christmas?
6 years ago, I was working like crazy, over 12 hou 6 years ago, I was working like crazy, over 12 hours a day...each day looked exactly like the next.⁣
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I learned that you need to take every opportunity you get! And so we went. Little did we know that it would be our last adventure for longer than we thought!⁣
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