Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Ganache

three hazelnut shortbread cookies stacked on a cookie sheet

5 from 2 votes

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Ganache

Two hazelnut shortbread cookies with Nutella ganache right in between! These thick rounds of buttery shortbread are a classic shortbread cookie with hazelnut flavor, baked to perfection and sandwiched together with a Nutella ganache. Read the blog post above for step-by-step photos!

Prep Time2

Cook Time20

Total Time2 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Keyword: christmas cookie

Servings: sandwich cookies

Author: Molly Thompson

Ingredients

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

1 cup toasted hazelnuts
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour gluten-free if needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 170g) unsalted butter very soft but not melted (Note 1)
1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Nutella Ganache

2/3 cup (107g) semi-sweet chocolate chips or squares
1/2 cup nutella
1/2 cup (113ml) heavy cream

Instructions

Add the toasted hazelnuts to a food processor and pulse or blend until finely ground. Transfer them to a bowl with the flour and salt and whisk to combine.
In a separate large bowl, use a spatula to combine the soft butter and brown sugar until no butter clumps remain and the mixture is smooth. Alternately, use an electric mixer or stand mixer and mix on low.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until the dough starts to come together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to mix with your hands to combine. The dough should hold together in a ball, but be slightly crumbly.
Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press it gently into a disc. Wrap well and chill for 2 hours or overnight (Note 2).
Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Gently flour a clean work surface or turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Gently flour the surface of the dough and roll it out to 1/4-inch thick. Cut the dough out using a round cookie cutter, I used a fluted one. Re-roll the scraps as needed. Cut a smaller shape (i used a snowflake) out of the center of half of the cookies.
Carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Bake one at a time in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden. Cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
Place the chocolate and Nutella in a large mixing bowl. Heat the heavy cream in the microwave until scolding, but not boiling, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes. Mix until thickened and the chocolate is melted. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes (or in the freezer for 10). It should be thick and barely fall back into the bowl when you lift it out with a spoon (Note 3).
Transfer the ganache to a piping bag and cut off the tip. Pipe the ganache onto the flat side of the whole cookies (without the centers cut out). Sandwich the cookies with the cutout on top, pressing gently.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Baked cookies (with or without ganache) freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and enjoy.

Video

Notes

Note 1. Softened Butter. Unlike butter at room temperature, which should still be slightly firm, this butter should be very soft. You can put it in the micrwave for 5-10 second increments if needed to soften it.

Note 2. Chilling the dough. I tested this recipe without chilling the dough and it still worked. The dough didn’t spread a ton, but chilling the dough made sure it didn’t spread at all.

Note 3. Ganache. If the ganache doesn’t seem thick enough after chilling, melt another 1/4 cup chocolate in the microwave, stir it in, and chill again for a few minutes.

Nutrition