Hazelnut Gingerbread Man Sandwich Cookies
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These Hazelnut Gingerbread Man Sandwich Cookies are some of my favorites Christmas cookies. Nutty, soft in the middle, slightly crispy on the edges, and filled with indulgent chocolate, they are the perfect Christmas treat for some holiday deliciousness.
Table of contents
Hazelnut Gingerbread Man Sandwich Cookies
Ok, the name is a bit of a mouthful, but you got to believe me when I say these hazelnut gingerbread man cookies are incredible.
Together with my chocolate amaretti and chocolate hazelnut cookies, they are my go-to Christmas treats! They are nutty, have the perfect amount of crunch and softness, and are filled with a super-easy to make chocolate spread. And if you want to make them even more indulgent, you can fill them with a layer of my homemade Nutella. So so good!
Ingredients you’ll need
These cookies are made with only a few wholesome, simple ingredients:
Cookies
- Whole wheat flour: You can use whole grain flour, substitute it for whole spelt flour, or use gluten-free flour if needed.
- Hazelnuts: Make sure to use hazelnuts with their skin on. No need to remove it. It adds texture and it’s rich in fiber and filled with nutrients.
- Hazelnut butter or almond butter: We will use nut butter as a substitute for oil and butter. It adds some healthy fats to the dough to keep it crumbly and delicious.
- Coconut sugar: These are cookies, after all, and we need some sweetness. I used coconut sugar, but you can also use soft brown sugar (the raw kind). I tested it, and it works incredibly well too.
- Almond milk: Just to add a bit of extra softness. You can substitute almond milk with any other milk of your choice.
Chocolate filling
- Dark chocolate: Make sure to use good quality chocolate. Something like this one, with not many added ingredients.
- Nut butter: Hazelnut butter will make your filling taste a lot like homemade Nutella. But any nut butter works well. It just adds some extra creaminess and nuttiness to the filling.
- Almond milk: This will help to cool down the chocolate a bit to make it more spreadable.
How to make hazelnut gingerbread man sandwich cookies
- Add the flour and hazelnuts to a food processor bowl or a blender and mix until the hazelnuts reach a fine consistency. You can blend the hazelnuts alone if you prefer, but I found that mixing them with the flour helps to bind them together nicely, and I can get the hazelnut to a flour-like consistency faster. Don’t stress too much if you still have some small pieces of hazelnuts left in the mix. They’ll just add texture.
- Add to the bowl the rest of the ingredients (nut butter, coconut sugar, and almond milk), and blitz a few times until you get a crumbly dough. Then remove the dough from the food processor bowl, place it in a bowl covered with a lid or kitchen towel, and let it chill in the fridge for at least 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 320F (160C).
- Once the dough is chilled, divide it into two parts as it’ll be much easier to work with. Roll out the cookie dough until about 1/5 inch thick. Use some parchment paper to roll the dough onto, so it won’t stick to your working surface. Then use a cookie cutter to cut into shape. As you work the dough, you might notice that it can become quite oily. That’s the oil from the nuts getting warm at room temperature. It’s pretty normal. If it becomes too oily, you can simply put it back in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up again.
- Place the cut-out cookies onto a lined baking sheet. These cookies will hold their shape and won’t spread so you can keep them quite close to one another. You should be able to make around 32 little gingerbread men if you use a 2.9 inches cookie cutter like I did, which will then make 16 gingerbread man sandwiches. I needed to bake them in 2 batches, but you can also use two baking sheets.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. You are going to have to find the sweet baking spot for these cookies. Don’t cook them much longer, or they will become quite hard. If you bake them too little, they’ll be too crumbly and soft.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. In the meantime, prepare the chocolate spread. Place the chocolate in a small bowl and melt it in the microwave in 20-second intervals, mixing in between. Once melted, add the nut butter and the cold almond milk and mix well with a spoon until you get a Nutella-like consistency.
- Spread the backside of one gingerbread man with the chocolate spread and cover with another gingerbread man. Continue until you have filled all your gingerbread man sandwich cookies!
- There you have it! A little army of hazelnut gingerbread man sandwiches!
How to store
These cookies will stay fresh covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Why I love these hazelnut gingerbread man sandwich cookies
- Nutty, chocolaty, and taste like heaven!
- The perfect edible gift for friends and family
- A healthy cookie made with wholesome ingredients
- They take a bit of time to make, but they look adorable
- Naturally vegan, dairy-free, and can be easily made gluten-free!
More cookies you are going to love
- Vegan Chocolate Amaretti
- Hazelnut Chocolate Cookies (No Sugar)
- The Best Healthy Breakfast Cookies
- Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Almond Crescent Cookies
And for more inspirations, check out this list of 25 irresistible Christmas cookies and these 21 Healthy Christmas Cookies!
If you try these hazelnut gingerbread man sandwich cookies, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it!
Hazelnut Gingerbread Man Sandwich Cookies
These Hazelnut Gingerbread Man Sandwich Cookies are some of my favorites Christmas cookies. Nutty, soft in the center, slightly crispy on the edges, and filled with indulgent chocolate, they are the perfect Christmas treat for some holiday deliciousness.
Servings: 16 cookies
Calories: 89kcal
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3/4 whole wheat flour
- 2/3 hazelnuts
- 5 1/2 tablespoon nut butter - almond butter or hazelnut butter works best
- 6 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 3 1/2 tablespoons almond milk
Chocolate Filling
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate
- 1 tablespoon nut butter - almond butter or hazelnut butter works best
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
Instructions
- Add the flour and hazelnuts to a food processor bowl or a blender and mix until the hazelnuts reach a fine consistency (note 1).
- Add to the bowl the nut butter, coconut sugar, and almond milk. Blitz a few times until you get a crumbly dough.
- Remove the dough from the food processor bowl, place it in a bowl covered with a lid or kitchen towel, and let it chill in the fridge for at least 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 320F (160C).
- Once the dough is chilled, divide it into two parts as it'll be much easier to work with. Roll out the cookie dough until about 1/5 inch thick. Use some parchment paper to roll the dough onto, so it won't stick to your working surface (note 2). Then use a cookie cutter to cut into shape. Repeat until you've used up all the dough (note 3).
- Place the cut-out cookies onto a lined baking sheet. These cookies will hold their shape and won’t spread so you can keep them quite close to one another.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes (note 4).
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. In the meantime, prepare the chocolate spread. Place the chocolate in a small bowl and melt it in the microwave in 20-second intervals, mixing in between. Once melted, add the nut butter and the cold almond milk and mix well with a spoon until you get a Nutella-like consistency.
- Spread the backside of one gingerbread man with the chocolate spread and cover with another gingerbread man. Continue until you have filled all your gingerbread man sandwich cookies!
Notes
Note 1: You can blend the hazelnuts alone if you prefer, but I found that mixing them with the flour helps to bind them together. Don’t stress too much if you still have some small pieces of hazelnuts left in the mix. They’ll just add texture. Note 2: As you work the dough, you might notice that it can become quite oily. That’s the oil from the nuts getting warm at room temperature. It’s pretty normal. If it becomes too oily, you can simply put it back in the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up again. Note 3: You should be able to make around 32 little gingerbread men if you use a 2.9 inches cookie cutter like I did, which will then make 16 gingerbread man sandwiches. Note 4: You are going to have to find the sweet baking spot for these cookies. Don’t cook them much longer, or they will become quite hard. If you bake them too little, they’ll be too crumbly and soft.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate per cookie sandwich.
Nutrition
Calories: 89kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Sugar: 5g
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