These Cacao Nib Hazelnut Cookies are the perfect shortbread cookie. Lightly sweet, nutty, and crisp, with a punch of chocolate from the cacao nibs.
When I was in pastry school, we had the privilege of having Alice Medrich come in to teach a chocolate class. Her recipes are meticulously created and always work, and her genuine curiosity and love for baking shine through in everything she does.
These cookies are adapted from her Cocoa Bean Pecan Cookies recipe, which quickly became a favorite of mine and has remained so over the past 20 years.
For a fruit-forward take on this recipe, try my Lavender Lemon Cookies, Strawberry Shortbread Cookies, or my Lemon Shortbread Cookies.
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Why Make This Recipe
- Delicious Flavor: These shortbread cookies are heavy on the nuts and the cocoa nibs, packing in a ton of flavor in every bite.
- An All-Occasion Cookie: I love these as part of our holiday cookie platter, but these cookies are equally good for a little treat any time of year. Particularly tasty with a cup of tea or coffee!
- Great for Make-Ahead: These cookies taste better the day after they are made, and stay fresh for at least a couple of weeks.
🥗 Ingredients
- Hazelnuts: I love the hazelnut flavor in this recipe, but Alice’s original recipe calls for pecans. Those work deliciously too, and I bet you could substitute other nuts as well. See below for tips for toasting and peeling hazelnuts!
- Butter: No escaping the butter in this recipe—it’s critical for a good shortbread cookie.
- Sugar: I’m using a combination of granulated and brown sugar in this recipe, but the original uses only granulated sugar. Feel free to go that route if you don’t want to use brown sugar.
- Cacao Nibs: Also known as cocoa nibs, cacao nibs are pieces of dried cacao beans, which are used to make chocolate. They are unsweetened and have a dark chocolate flavor that is bitter when eaten by themselves but delicious when added to cookies, oatmeal, smoothies, granola, and more. And, they’re dairy-free so make a great substitute for chocolate chips. They are also high in fiber and contain antioxidants and heart-healthy flavonoids.
- Flour: This recipe calls for all-purpose flour. I haven’t tested using alternative flours for this recipe, but it’s worth a shot if you follow a gluten-free diet.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Chop ½ cup of toasted, peeled hazelnuts into small pieces.
Cream together ½ cup unsalted butter (softened), ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with a mixer until smooth.
Stir in hazelnuts and ¼ cup cacao nibs.
Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, and stir just until incorporated.
Scrape the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper, and use your hands to form the dough into a log that is 1 ½ inches in diameter.
Wrap the log in the parchment paper, then twist both sides to close tightly.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, and preferably 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Unwrap log, and cut into ⅓-inch-thick slices.
Place shortbread slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, with an inch or two of space between cookies.
Bake for 12 minutes, until golden brown on the edges.
Let cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet on a cooling rack, before moving the cookies themselves onto the rack.
Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Cookies taste even better the next day!
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Cacao Nib Hazelnut Cookies
Yes! These are some of my favorite make-ahead cookies. You can make them a couple of months in advance and freeze the parchment cookie logs. Then defrost in the refrigerator and proceed with the recipe when you’re ready to bake.
If you just want to make them a few days in advance, the unbaked cookie logs will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Best of all, shortbread cookies keep really well, and these are no exception. They will easily stay crisp and delicious for at least a couple of weeks if you store them in an airtight container.
Many shortbread recipes call for powdered sugar. That creates a softer texture and a more tender cookie. Granulated sugar, on the other hand, makes them more crisp. For this recipe, I prefer the granulated sugar, but if you prefer a soft shortbread cookie, use powdered sugar instead.
No, they do not. They keep their shape when baked, and aren’t melty when you remove the cookies from the oven.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
This recipe can easily be doubled to make four dozen cookies. (Or, make two dozen when you first make the recipe, and freeze a cookie log for baking later.)
If you want to make two trays of cookies at once, put one on the top rack and one on the bottom rack of your oven. Then change places halfway through the bake time, rotating the sheets from back to front as well.
We recommend using a large serrated knife like a bread knife to slice your cookies. You’ll get the cleanest cuts that way, as it will go neatly through even the hazelnuts and won’t crush your dough. We love this Victorinox Swiss Army Bread Knife if you’re looking for a recommendation!
As with almost all baking recipes, we highly recommend weighing your ingredients rather than using measuring cups. It’s always more accurate that way, so you’ll be sure the cookies will come out exactly as they should.
To toast your own hazelnuts, heat the oven to 375 degrees and put the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast nuts for 10-15 minutes, until you can smell them, and the skins are starting to peel off. Remove from oven, then pour the hazelnuts into the middle of a clean dish towel and pull up the sides to twist together.
Rub the hazelnuts against each other within the pouch of the kitchen towel, then open the towel. Pick out the toasted nuts, pulling off any extra skin. Not all of the skin will be removed, which is not a problem.
Looking for another deliciously nutty dessert, perhaps for the holiday table? Try this Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie.
Other Delicious Cookie Recipes
Over here at Vanilla Bean Cuisine central, we love cookies of all kinds! Shortbread cookies like our Strawberry Shortbread Cookies, of course, but other types too. Here are a few favorites:
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to us.
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📖 Recipe
Cacao Nib Hazelnut Cookies
These Cacao Nib Hazelnut Cookies are the perfect shortbread cookie. Lightly sweet, nutty, and crisp, with a punch of chocolate from the cacao nibs.
Adapted from Alice Medrich's Cocoa Bean Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup hazelnuts, toasted and peeled (2.5 ounces)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (8 tablespoons)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (2.6 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (.8 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cacao nibs (1 ounce)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (4.2 ounces)
Instructions
- Chop hazelnuts into small pieces.
- Cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla with a mixer until smooth.
- Stir in hazelnuts and cacao nibs.
- Add the flour, and stir just until incorporated.
- Scrape the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper, and use your hands to form the dough into a log that is 1 ½ inches in diameter.
- Wrap the log in the parchment paper, then twist both sides to close tightly.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, and preferably 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Unwrap log, and cut into ⅓-inch slices.
- Place shortbread slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, with an inch or two of space between cookies.
- Bake for 12 minutes, until golden brown on the edges.
- Let cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet on a cooling rack, before moving the cookies themselves onto the rack.
Notes
Storage: Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Cookies taste even better the next day! Shortbread cookies keep really well, and these are no exception. They will easily stay crisp and delicious for at least a couple of weeks if you store them in an airtight container.
Make-Ahead: You can make the dough a couple of months in advance and freeze the parchment cookie logs. Then defrost in the refrigerator and proceed with the recipe when you’re ready to bake. If you just want to make them a few days in advance, the unbaked cookie logs will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Recipe Tips:
If you want to make two trays of cookies at once, put one on the top rack and one on the bottom rack of your oven. Then change places halfway through the bake time, rotating the sheets from back to front as well.
To toast your own hazelnuts, heat the oven to 375 degrees and put the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast nuts for 10-15 minutes, until you can smell them, and the skins are starting to peel off. Remove from oven, then pour the hazelnuts into the middle of a clean dish towel and pull up the sides to twist together. Rub the hazelnuts against each other within the pouch of the kitchen towel, then open the towel. Pick out the toasted nuts, pulling off any extra skin. Not all of the skin will be removed, which is not a problem.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 188Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 29mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
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More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Sandie Largent says
Can these be made with almond flour? Can't have regular flour.
Chef Molly says
Hi Sandie, I don't think you'd get the same texture if you replaced the regular flour with almond flour in this recipe. If you wanted to try it, cut down the butter a bit, since almond flour cookies don't need as much liquid. Or, try some of the almond flours on my site--I have almond flour oatmeal, chocolate, and peanut butter cookies here.