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