Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Filling

 If you are looking for cookies for Santa, these Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Filling would totally fit the bill. 

These little hazelnut shortbread sandwich cookies are fabulously easy. Just make the dough, form it into a log, refrigerate it, and, when you are ready to make them, slice the dough and bake. Next, sandwich the cookies together with a dollop of Nutella in the center. 

If I had to choose a single type of cookie as my favorite, it would be shortbread. I love the crumbly and buttery nature of the cookies. Plus you can make any type of cookie into shortbread, including chocolate chip, lemon, and pecan butterscotch. 

Set some out for Santa on Christmas Eve and I promise there won't be any on the plate the next morning!

These cookies have the perfect shortbread texture. They are both crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth at the same time. 

The cookies are a combination of flour, butter, and toasted and ground hazelnuts. There's also a little bit of baking powder to add a tiny rise to the cookies. 

These cookies require a little bit of planning, in that you will need to chill the dough before slicing and baking. This is to help the cookies maintain their square shape while baking and not spread out and becoming flat. 

I used a small 1.5 teaspoon-sized cookie scoop to portion the Nutella between the two cookies, which worked out perfectly. I ended up using up a small 7 ounce jar of Nutella to make 30 sandwich cookies. 

One of the most annoying part of working with hazelnuts (or filberts), is removing the outer skin. Then I came across a video from the Baking with Julia PBS show with Alice Medrich, who introduces it on her segment about biscotti. Thanks to My Baking Addiction for finding this. 

Check out Alice Medrich demonstrating the method. I totally love watching Julia's reactions. 

You boil the a cup of hazelnuts in a mixture of 2 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of baking soda for three minutes, and then you strain them into ice water and peel off the skins with your fingers in the water. Easy peasy. 

After you peel and dry the hazelnuts in a towel, roast them in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes to really bring out their flavor! 

For these cookies, you pulse the toasted and cooled hazelnuts in a food processor with cornstarch until they are finely ground. A mini food processor is my favorite tool for this. 

I formed the dough into two square logs to slice after chilling. You could also form the dough into round logs before chilling. 

While not necessary, once I assembled the sandwiches, I chilled them so that the Nutella would firm up and not leak out of the sides of the cookies. 

Some of the Nutella will be slightly absorbed into the cookies, which is a good thing. 

These cookies were beyond delicious. Shortbread cookies are pretty much my favorite cookies, and these are one of my favorite shortbread cookies. They are also really easy to make. 

This is an updated post. I first posted these cookies in 2013. I made them again, tweaked the recipe, and remembered how delicious they absolutely are. I've added new photos and a printable recipe card. 

Welcome to Sunday Funday! This week's theme is cookies for Santa. 

Let's see what everyone made for Santa! 

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Aztec Blueberry Linzer Cookies
• Food Lust People Love: Brown Butter Shortbread 
• Our Good Life: Chocolate Chunk Shortbread with Sprinkles
• Sneha's Recipe : Eggless Nankhatai 
• Cooking With Carlee: Krumkake 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Macaroon Kiss Christmas Cookies 
• Making Miracles: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Cookies 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Salted Honey Pecan Thumbprint Cookies 
• Palatable Pastime:Toffee Coffee Bars

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Filling

Print

Yield: 30 cookies

Author: Karen Kerr

These little sandwich cookies are fabulously easy slice-and-bake hazelnut shortbread cookies with a dollop of Nutella in the center.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 Cup (215 g) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Cup/55 g cornstarch
• 55 grams hazelnuts (about 1/2 Cup), skinned and toasted (see post)
• 1 Cup unsalted room temperature butter
• 2/3 Cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Approximately 1 cup (small 7.5 ounch jar) Nutella

Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. Pulse the hazelnuts and the cornstarch in a food processor until finely ground.
3. Add the butter, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium for a minute.
4. With the speed on low, add the hazelnut/cornstarch mixture and beat until mixed.
5. Add the flour mixture and beat for about a minute.
6. Divide the dough into two pieces and form them into square logs. The sides of the squares should be about 1 1/4 inch wide.
7. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. You can also wrap it in foil freeze it at this point.
8. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees F.
9. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
10. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch slices and place them about one inch apart, on the baking sheets.
11. Bake for about 13 minutes, until slightly golden on the edges.
12. Cool on racks in the pans for 10 minutes. Move the cookies from the pans to racks and cool completely.
13. On the flat side of one cookie, place about a teaspoon of Nutella and top with another cookie to form a sandwich. Gently press the cookies together to spread the filling.
14. Store at room temperature between layers of wax paper or in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to three days.

Calories

158.67

Fat (grams)

9.60

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.13

Carbs (grams)

16.79

Fiber (grams)

0.79

Net carbs

15.99

Sugar (grams)

8.69

Protein (grams)

1.51

Sodium (milligrams)

77.89

Cholesterol (grams)

16.27

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https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2013/10/hazelnut-shortbread-cookies-with.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

cookies, hazelnuts, nutella

Cookies

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This recipe was adapted from Slice and Bake Cookies.