Hazelnut Espresso Truffle Cookies

If you crave Nutella, if you love Ferrero Rocher, if you adore chocolate...I have the cookies for you! These Hazelnut Espresso Truffle Cookies are some of the best Christmas cookies I have ever tasted. There is something so sophisticated about these cookies. If you are a fan of Nutella, you know that chocolate and hazelnuts are simply a match made in heaven. The addition of the espresso powder adds more interest and Italian flair. This rich sandwich cookie is an outstanding addition to any holiday cookie exchange!

Save

Unknown

Preparing Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Served Person: 1

vegetarian white meat free contains gluten red meat free shellfish free contains dairy contains eggs pescatarian

Carbohydrate 8.16012 g
Cholesterol 796.706666666667 mg
Fat 190.799626666667 g
Fiber 0 g
Protein 12.1985733333333 g
Saturated Fat 118.282062666667 g
Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (814g)
Sodium 174.454666666667 mg
Sugar 8.16012 g
Trans Fat 12.2214466666667 g
Calories 1781 calories

desserts

Step-by-step

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roast hazelnuts on baking sheet 13-14 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant. Remove from oven, let cool a couple minutes, and then rub briskly while still warm in clean towel to remove most of skins. Place cooled nuts in food processor; process until finely ground. Set aside.
In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, yolk, vanilla, and then espresso powder. Add nuts and beat until well blended. Combine flour and baking powder; add to nut mixture, beating on low speed until just mixed. Divide dough in quarters, shaping into discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove one disc of dough from refrigerator. On lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut dough into holiday shapes with small size holiday cookie cutters. Place cookies ½ inch apart on parchment-lined or ungreased large baking sheet.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes until edges are just golden and cookies are set. Cool cookies on the sheet for 1 minute; then transfer cookies to wire cooling racks to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining dough.
To make truffle filling, heat cream in small heavy sauce pan over medium heat to just boiling. Remove from heat, and pour over chocolate in mixing bowl (not plastic). Stir vigorously until chocolate is melted and smooth. Chill uncovered in refrigerator for 40 minutes, beating occasionally until ganache thickens and is spreadable. Spread filling 1/8 inch thick on flat side of cookie and place another cookie on top of filling, sandwich style. If ganache thickens too much before you finish filling, just briefly set the bowl in a larger bowl or pan of hot water and stir. It will quickly soften again.
To trim cookies, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with a fine writing tip. Pipe thin lines of chocolate back and forth over the top of each cookie. Place sheets of cookies in freezer for 10 minutes until chocolate is set. Store cookies in airtight containers in refrigerator; serve cookies at room temperature. These cookies will keep 5-7 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer, or may be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.
QUICK EASY METHOD: Some bakers are intimidated by rolled, cut out cookies, or need to save time. Instead of doing a rolled and cut out cookie, these cookies can also be made using the slice and bake method. Just take a quarter of the dough at a time, shape into a log about 1 ½" in diameter, roll up in plastic wrap (then roll on counter to smooth), refrigerate for 2 hours, and then slice with a thin, sharp knife into 1/8" thick slices. Place slices 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake 7 minutes. Trim is optional, or can be drizzled from a fork.

A crisp, buttery shortbread shell shatters cleanly against a rich, velvety ganache, while toasted hazelnuts and a bitter whisper of espresso temper the profound sweetness of the chocolate. Because this bake relies heavily on standard dairy, gluten, and eggs, understanding how to substitute these structural components without losing the characteristic texture of a sandwich cookie requires careful attention to ingredient chemistry.

Replace the all-purpose flour with a measured one-to-one gluten-free baking blend containing xanthan gum, but ensure the dough rests for the full one-hour refrigeration window so the starches can fully hydrate and prevent crumbling during rolling.
Substitute the unsalted dairy butter with a high-fat European-style plant-based stick margarine containing at least eighty percent oil, avoiding tub spreads with high water content that will cause the dough to flatten prematurely at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Swap the heavy whipping cream in the ganache with full-fat canned coconut milk using only the solid cream portion, which provides the necessary fat load to maintain a spreadable consistency after the forty-minute chill time.
Omit the egg yolk and use a commercial flax egg binder consisting of one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal mixed with three tablespoons of water for the structural lift.

Roasting the nuts until their skins crack liberates essential aromatic oils that cut through the density of the fats, while the espresso powder acts as a flavor potentiator to deepen the perceived bitterness of the cocoa solids. Adjusting these elements guarantees a successful batch tailored precisely to specific nutritional guidelines.

Advertise here

Hazelnut Espresso Truffle Cookies

Ingredients

Nutrition facts

Step-by-step