The combination of hazelnut and chocolate is a magical one (hi nutella!) and it is especially delicious in these accidentally gluten-free spicy hazelnut and ginger chocolate chip cookies.
Spicy Hazelnut and Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brace yourself, because we are about to make accidentally gluten free cookies and I’m not even mad about it.

I mean, how could you be mad about melty chocolate puddles or spicy/sweet caramelized ginger pockets surrounded by a hazelnut cookie crust?!?!?!

IMPOSSIBLE.

Spicy Hazelnut and Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

We are incrreeeddiibbllyy lucky that no one in our family really has any allergies or intolerances. I mean, I have this thing where avocados and pineapples give me heart-wrenchingly intense stomach pains. And there was a hot second where a doctor thought I maybe could have had celiac disease (spoiler alert: it didn’t pan out). But that’s about it.

When that celiac scare was going on, I really felt like I saw all of my favorite carbs (pasta! cake! cookies! BREAD!!!!) flash in front of my eyes. It was probably about ten years ago and gluten free options were nowhere near as palatable as they are now. Things have changed so much!! For the better. Back then it was all cardboard bread and mushy gummy pastas. Now we have access to a much wider variety of flours and specialty ingredients so the options are that much better.

Spicy Hazelnut and Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

This cookie recipe uses hazelnut flour which, when combined with XL chocolate chunks makes for some pretty delicious cookies. The chocolate and hazelnut combo is CLASSIC and these end up being fabulously chewy and finger-licking good. They also contain caramelized ginger chunks which add the perfect amount of spice to the mix. Without the ginger the cookies would be almost overwhelmingly sweet, but with it they have a good bite to them.

If you don’t have ready access to hazelnut flour, I’m going to guess that almond flour (or any nut flour really) would be a reasonable substitute. You won’t quite get that nutella-esque flavor but the texture (and the chocolate puddles, most important in my opinion) will be there.

Spicy Hazelnut and Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

Spicy Hazelnut and Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
The combination of hazelnut and chocolate is a magical one (hi nutella!) and it is especially delicious in these accidentally gluten-free spicy hazelnut and ginger chocolate chip cookies.
Yield: 12 cookies
Ingredients
  • 2 cups hazelnut flour
  • 1 cup packed muscovado sugar
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao)
  • ⅓ cup chopped crystallized ginger
Instructions
  1. Whisk together the hazelnut flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add in the egg, butter, vanilla, chocolate, and ginger. Stir to combine until the dough begins to come together.
  2. Lightly grease your hands using a neutral or nut oil (I used hazelnut oil) and divide the dough into twelve equal parts. Roll each into a ball and then flatten into 2-inch rounds. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for two hours.
  3. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350F. Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper. Place half of the cookie dough balls on the second baking sheet, spreading them out evenly. Bake for 12-15 minutes, one pan at a time. Store the second pan in the fridge while the first is baking.
  4. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Recipe very slightly adapted from Season

 

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4 Responses to Spicy Hazelnut and Ginger Chocolate Chip Cookies

  1. Teresa says:

    These sound great!
    I’ve always had decent luck with tossing hazelnuts into the food processor thus making my own “hazelnut flour”. It’s usually a little coarser so the baked goods are a little more delicate than I imagine commercial ground hazelnut flour would be but I love the toothsome quality it gives to cakes. I hope it works for these! (Would you offer a guess?)

    • joanne says:

      I used Bob’s Red Mill hazelnut flour so I can’t entirely speak to this. I’m guessing the mixture may be a little bit more wet than if you use commercial flour but I bet it will still be delicious!

  2. Pam says:

    They look so DELICIOUS!!!

  3. Kate says:

    Hazelnut flour sounds awesome

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