You should try these delicious soft and chewy 4 ingredient flourless cookies that are so easy to make! These hazelnut chocolate cookies are perfect as a gift anytime of the year but especially during the holiday season.
Flourless hazelnut cookies are one of my favorites since I was a child. When I go to a patisserie, they attract my attention immediately.
They are richly flavored with hazelnuts and cocoa powder. If you are looking for cookies without flour, I would suggest these soft and chewy cookies without hesitation.
You don’t need a special occasion to make these gluten-free cookies but they are perfect for holidays, so you should add this recipe to your holiday cookie recipes.
Let’s see the 4 ingredients you’ll need to make these easy cookies.
Ingredients for Flourless Cookies
- Hazelnuts: I love the hazelnut chocolate combination but you can use your choice of nuts.
- Egg white: Although egg white is known as having a drying effect on cookies, egg white helps chewiness in these cookies. This is the science of the pastry. The end results are affected by how the ingredients are used together.
- Cocoa Powder: It makes these cookies chocolatey.
- Powdered Sugar: If you don’t have powdered sugar, you can easily make your homemade powdered sugar.
Below I’ll share with you two different shapes. One is the mushroom shape and the other one is a simple ball shape. My preference is the first one as it is how I eat since I was a kid.
Now let’s go through the steps:
How to Make Gluten-Free Cookies
I am using toasted hazelnuts. If your hazelnuts are not toasted, first you should toast for the best flavor. You can place them in a pan and toast over medium heat until the hazelnuts give their aroma. You should stir almost in every 15 seconds to prevent them from burning.
I place the hazelnuts into the food processor and start to pulse at medium speed and gradually increase to high. After 10 seconds I check the hazelnuts to see how much they are grounded. Then I continue to ground them. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds. I make sure not to over-process it. Otherwise, I can end up making hazelnut butter. Once you see the oily look, you should stop.
Next I add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and egg white over the hazelnuts and process until the dough looks like a paste. It takes almost 10 seconds.
After the dough is ready, I use my small cookie scoop (2 teaspoons-14-15 grams) and roll into balls.
Next, I lightly cover the balls with powdered sugar and place them on the baking sheet.
Although the dough looks sticky, you can make balls out of it. First, you may think you can’t make balls but take the dough into your hands and try to give a shape. If you say you can’t make it for sure, please read the tips section below. It is better to read the tips before starting the recipe.
After that you can either leave them as balls or give the mushroom shape:
I use my round tip to make a sign on the cookie to give them the shape. I find these cookies with the mushroom shape chewier than the plain ones.
Finally, I bake them for 6-7 minutes until the cookies are slightly firm but still soft at the same time. When I take them from the oven, they are too soft to handle. I keep them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes until they are firm enough. Don’t overbake the cookies! Otherwise, they won’t be soft.
The plain ones also have the nice crinkles, softness and chewiness. The chewiness is mostly around the edges.
Once these cookies have cooled down, I keep them in an airtight container so they keep their softness. Enjoy your delicious hazelnut cocoa cookies with either shape!
Tips
- 1 egg white is approximately 35 grams. Sometimes they go up to 42 grams. Too much egg white will make the dough too sticky and make it hard to make the balls. If you think the egg white weighs more than usual, you can either leave out a little egg white (set aside the excess) and add it later if needed or you can add some more grounded hazelnuts if it is hard to make balls. In this case you should be grounding more hazelnuts than the recipe states, set aside the excess amount and add gradually if needed.
- Baking time may vary from oven to oven. After 6 minutes you should check your oven. You shouldn’t overbake these cookies, otherwise, they will lose their softness. They will be too soft to handle when they are out of the oven but they will be firm as you keep them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
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Other Gluten-Free Treats You May Enjoy
Flourless Hazelnut Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 120 g (1 cup) hazelnuts, toasted
- 75 g (7 and ½ tablespoons) powdered sugar or homemade powdered sugar*
- 1 large egg white**
- 12 g (2 tablespoons) cocoa powder
- 20 g (2 tablespoons) powdered sugar for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F(165C°). Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Place the hazelnuts into the food processor and start to pulse at medium speed and gradually increase to high. After 10 seconds check the hazelnuts to see how much they are grounded. Then continue to ground them. The whole process takes less than 30 seconds. You shouldn't over-process it to avoid making hazelnut butter. Once you see the oily look, you should stop. (If your hazelnuts are not toasted, you can place them in a pan and toast over medium heat until the hazelnuts give their aroma. You should stir almost in every 15 seconds to prevent them from burning.)
- Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and egg white over the hazelnuts and process until the dough looks like a paste for almost 10 seconds.
- Take the dough from the bowl and roll into 14-15 gram (2 teaspoons) balls. Although the dough looks sticky, you can make balls out of it. Take the dough into your hands and try to give a shape. **
- Lightly cover the balls with powdered sugar. You can either bake them as balls or give a mushroom shape. To give a shape use your round tip to make a sign in the middle of the balls.
- Bake for 6-7 minutes or until the cookies are slightly firm but still soft. When you remove them from the oven, they will be too soft to handle. Keep on the baking sheet for 10 minutes until they are firm enough. Once they have cooled down, keep in an airtight container to keep their softness. You can keep at room temperature up to 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Update Notes: I originally shared this recipe on Nov 28, 2016. Today I republish it with extra information and new photos to show how it looks like to when baked as a ball without giving any shape. I keep the recipe the same.
