Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Ciao!! I use to be a big believer in the more the chocolate, the better the intensity. I never thought recipes just made with cocoa could do the trick, I didn’t think they would give me that rich chocolate taste that I was craving. But clearly, I was wrong.

The other night I thought back to cookie I use to LOVE! It’s from a famous pastry shops that use to be on the Upper East Side, where much of my childhood was spent. Most weekends I would treat myself to a cookie; it’s just the way it was. I wanted to try to recreate that cookie, which I knew only use cocoa powder. I also wanted to add my own Italian spin, hence the hazelnuts and espresso.

Some of you may recall my Eggland’s Best “Your Best Recipe Contest” winning Baci Espresso Cookies; this recipe is similar, except that this is flourless and made only with egg whites. This cookie is incredible, it’s very rich, slightly chewy, but in a good way, almost like a meringue and surprisingly intense. The outside sets and cracks beautifully and the inside is a little gooey, the nuts add a great great. Try this cookie. You won’t be disappointed.

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Makes 9 medium size cookies

1 cup of blanched and roasted hazelnuts

1 ½ cups of confectioners’ sugar

¼ cup dark cocoa powder plus 1 tbsp.

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. espresso powder

2 egg whites

½ tsp. hazelnut extract

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Coarse sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and treat with cooking spray.

Mix in a large bowl your hazelnuts, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, salt and espresso powder. Add your eggs whites, hazelnut and vanilla extract. Using an electric mix, mix until combined and wet for around 2 minutes. I like to use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter out and make them all uniform. Top the cookies with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. Bake for 15-17 minutes, you want the tops of the cookies to crack. Serve immediately and enjoy!! Buon Appetito!! 

Exciting News: Eggland's Best "Your Best Recipe Contest" Category Winner!!

Ciao a tutti!! I would like to officially announce that I won the dessert category for Eggland’s Best “Your Best Recipe Contest” for my Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Cookies. You can view the announcement here: http://egglandsbest.com/yourbestrecipe.aspx and take a look at my prize winning recipe here: http://egglandsbest.com/recipes/book/c/cookies-chocolate-hazelnut-espresso.aspx. I want to thank all of you that voted, as always, your support is greatly appreciated!! Buon Appetito!!

Chocolate Espresso Hazelnut Cookies- Recipe Contest Semi Finalist

Ciao everyone!! Today I am so excited to officially announce that I am a semi-finalist in Eggland’s Best “Your Best Recipe” Contest!! My recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Cookies was selected. Voting takes place between Sept. 20^th at 12PM until Sept. 30^th 12PM. You can take a look at http://www.egglandsbest.com/yourbestrecipe and on the Eggland's Best "Your Best Recipe" Contest tab on the Eggland's Best Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/egglandsbesteggs/app_251842034899170 - you have to “like” Egglands Best. You will see my recipe under the Dessert Category under Caroline B.

In honor of the contest, I would like to share the original post with you. Thank you again for reading and supporting my site, it really means so much to me.

Il Dolce (Dessert)

I absolutely adore chocolate, nuts and espresso. All together or separately, it makes no difference. So when I was in Rome this past summer and stumbled upon a gelato cafe right around Piazza Navona and saw “Baci Espresso” as a flavor, I knew I was in the right place.  Baci translates to kiss in Italian, but I bet if you think of Baci, you think of those amazing chocolates with the hazelnut center. The gelato had a deep chocolate espresso base with chunks of chocolate and hazelnuts. It was absolutely amazing. Come summer I plan to take out my ice cream maker and try to recreate some of the gelato I had in Italy (including the most intense chocolate gelato I have ever had, called nero fondente.) But, I’m not quite ready for gelato. So until then, I have recreated the taste and made these equally delicious Baci Espresso cookies. While they are not the prettiest cookies, they are certainly pleasing to the palette. They are fudgy, chocolaty and the hazelnuts add a lovely crunchy to an otherwise smooth cookie.

Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Cookies

10 ounce of dark chocolate

2 Eggland’s Best eggs

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons espresso powder

1/8^th teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter.

1 ½ cups of hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, espresso powder and salt together. Stirring frequently, melt butter with chocolate. Whisk in the egg mixture. Stir in the flour and nuts. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter on baking sheet.

Bake until the surface of the cookie looks dry and the centers are still gooey, around 11-13 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool. If you don’t eat them all in one sitting, store the leftover cookies in a tightly sealed container.

Buon Appetito!

Baci Espresso Cookies

For today’s sweet treat, I will be featuring some decadent Baci Espresso cookies!!

Il Dolce (Dessert)

I absolutely adore chocolate, nuts and espresso. All together or separately, it makes no difference. So when I was in Rome this past summer and stumbled upon a gelato cafe right around Piazza Navona and saw “Baci Espresso” as a flavor, I knew I was in the right place.  Baci translates to kiss in Italian, but I bet if you think of Baci, you think of those amazing chocolates with the hazelnut center. The gelato had a deep chocolate espresso base with chunks of chocolate and hazelnuts. It was absolutely amazing. Come summer I plan to take out my ice cream maker and try to recreate some of the gelato I had in Italy (including the most intense chocolate gelato I have ever had, called nero fondente.) But, I’m not quite ready for gelato. So until then, I have recreated the taste and made these equally delicious Baci Espresso cookies. While they are not the prettiest cookies, they are certainly pleasing to the palette. They are fudgy, chocolaty and the hazelnuts add a lovely crunchy to an otherwise smooth cookie.

Baci Espresso Cookies

10 ounce of dark chocolate
2 eggs
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons espresso powder
1/8^th teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter.
1 ½ cups of hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, espresso powder and salt together. Stirring frequently, melt butter with chocolate. Whisk in the egg mixture. Stir in the flour and nuts. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter on baking sheet.

Bake until the surface of the cookie looks dry and the centers are still gooey, around 11-13 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool. If you don’t eat them all in one sitting, store the leftover cookies in a tightly sealed container.

Buon Appetito!