These gluten-free cookies are full of the goodness of chocolate and hazelnut! You'll think you're eating Nutella right from the jar -- but, with hazelnut meal and cocoa powder, you're eating homemade Nutella -- in the form of a cookie! Makes about 10 dozen small cookiesServing size: about 3
2cupsall-purpose flour or Gluten-Free Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour
1teaspoonsalt
¾teaspoonbaking soda
1cupunsalted butter,softened to room temperature
1cupgranulated sugar
¾cuplight brown sugar
1tablespoonpure vanilla extract or paste
2largeeggs
2cupschocolate chips (semisweet or milk)
Instructions
Prepare the hazelnuts. Preheat the oven to 375°F, and place the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. When the oven is preheated, roast them until they look a bit oily, are a bit golden and aromatic, about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn it down to 350°F. Once the hazelnuts have completely cooled, add them to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process untill finely ground. Set aside. (If using unblanched hazelnuts: Preheat the oven to 375°F, and place the hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. When the oven is preheated, roast them until they are very aromatic and the skins are cracking, about 7 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes, and then pour them into the center of a dish towel and rub them with it -- skins should flake away.)
Prepare the pans. Cover a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the flour, sifted cocoa powder, salt and baking soda together. Set aside.
Mix the wet ingredients and combine with the dry. In another mixing bowl, blend the butter with both sugars and vanilla. Then add the eggs and mix until smooth. Add this, along with the ground hazelnuts and chocolate chips, to the dry ingredients. Stir just until you no longer see any dry spots.
Shape the batter. Use a 1-inch cookie scoop (about ½ tablespoon) to shape balls of dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheets. There should be about 2 inches between them.
Bake and cool. Place the baking sheets in the preheated 350°F oven and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes. They might still look doughy, but once they sit for a few minutes outside of the oven, they should be perfect. Let them cool on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes. (You will have to repeat this a couple of times to use up all of the dough.)