Chocolate and Hazelnut Crackle Cookies
These Chocolate and Hazelnut crackle cookies are also known as our holiday cookies. Last Easter we went on another driving holiday to France. We rented a gite for a week in the gorgeous Dordogne region. As it was still cold and snow had been reported on the lower slopes we were not sure if it meant that we would have to be housebound for most of our stay. I thought that these Chocolate and Hazelnut Crackle Cookies might just be what we needed to help us through the cold evenings. And so they did, there were so many of them that Ross described them as the never ending tin of cookies that multiply every time you put the lid back on.
Well I must admit that I did make a few other recipes as well. They lasted the whole holiday and were much appreciated. The Gite was lovely, I took this picture of these cookies in the back garden of the gite . It appeared to be an old water well that was capped by a concrete slab which was encrusted with the most beautiful green moss, very inspiring indeed!
I thought I would include a holiday snap of these two love birds who were strolling through the streets of Périgord, it’s simply a beautiful place to visit.
- 350g dark bitter chocolate
- 200g roasted whole hazelnuts, lightly crushed
- 100g unsalted butter
- 350g plain flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 300g unrefined caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scarped
- icing sugar or cocoa for baking
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Break the chocolate in small pieces, add the butter and melt over a double boiler, let the chocolate cool slightly once it’s melted.
Add the sugar, vanilla seeds and the eggs in to the bowl of a mixing machine, insert the balloon whisk and whisk until the eggs become pale in colour and the mixture is fluffy. Add the cooled melted chocolate and mix lightly.
Sieve the flour and baking powder over the chocolate mixture and add the toasted crushed hazelnuts, gently fold the flour and hazel nuts in to the chocolate mix. Let the dough rest for 1 hour in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Place the icing sugar or cocoa powder in a small bowl.
Roll the cookie dough into large walnut size balls, roll these in the icing or cocoa powder to coat the dough completely. Place the covered cookie balls on the prepared baking trays; leave large gaps as they expand when baking. Use the palm of you hand to lightly press the cookie dough slightly flatter, preferred size about 2cm high and 4cm wide cookie dough.
Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, before transferring them to a cooling rack. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.
Makes about 40 cookies
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Are all oven temperatures on this website for fan assisted ovens?
Hi Elisa,
Good point, yes all my recipes are for fan assisted ovens, if you to have an electric non fan assisted oven then you should increase the heat with 10 degrees. I’m not sure about aga ovens.
Hope that helps.
Enjoy cooking, Maddy