Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

Name: Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups (225g) all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup (65g) confectioner's sugar; 10 tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, room temperature; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 1/2 cup (60g) roasted hazelnuts; 1/2 cup (65g) confectioner's sugar; 2 tablespoons maple syrup; 1 tablespoon (14.2g) unsalted butter, melted; pinch of salt

Mar 23, 2023 by Asha · This post may contain affiliate links · 36 Comments

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Buttery and nutty, these melt-in-your-mouth hazelnut shortbread cookies are delicious. And they are dipped in a beautiful glaze with a hint of sweet maple. The texture of these cookies is fantastic; and with their distinctive roasted hazelnut flavour it's very difficult to eat just one. What's more, they are so easy to make with simple ingredients.

Two hazelnut shortbread cookies on a plate painted with maple leaves.

This is now one of my go-to cookies for the fall and winter seasons. I started my morning by having a couple of these with a hot cup of coffee. Such a blissful way to start the day. They are also perfect for wrapping up to give as a special treat to friends and family. I know you're going to love them as much as I do.

See my chocolate hazelnut cookies for another delicious cookie filled with roasted hazelnuts. You should also try my soft pumpkin cookies for another scrumptious autumn cookie.

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Ingredients
Variations
Instructions
Maple glaze
Equipment
Storage
Tips for Success
📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Ground, roasted hazelnuts - You might be able to buy pre-roasted and ground hazelnuts, but freshly roasted has a much better flavour so I recommend doing it yourself. See my guide on how to roast and peel hazelnuts for easy to follow instructions.
Unsalted butter
All purpose flour
Confectioner's sugar - Using confectioner's sugar gives you an extra tender shortbread and helps prevent the cookie from spreading while baking.
Salt - This is used to help flavour the cookie as well as to temper the sweetness of the glaze.
Pure vanilla extract
Maple syrup - This is for the glaze, which is optional.

See the recipe card below for quantities.

Variations

Less sweet - Don't have a sweet tooth? The maple glaze is not excessively sweet as we temper the sweetness with a pinch of salt. However, if you really prefer less sweetness, you can skip the glaze entirely. These hazelnut shortbread cookies are delicious with or without the glaze.

Instructions

Ground, roasted hazelnuts in a food processor.

Roast and peel the hazelnuts (see that post for easy instructions). Put the prepared hazelnuts into a food processor and grind them into tiny pieces. Set aside for now.

Confectioner's sugar being sifted into a bowl.

Sift the confectioner's sugar into a small bowl, and sift the flour and salt into another small bowl. Set them aside.

Butter and vanilla extract whipped until pale and fluffy in a stand mixer.

Next, beat the butter with the vanilla until it's pale and fluffy. I did this in my stand mixer with a paddle attachment for 4 minutes, but you could do it by hand or with a hand mixer.

A stand mixer paddle attachment mixing together cookie dough.

Add the sugar in with the butter while mixing on low speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula as needed. Mix in the vanilla, then slowly add in the flour/salt and mix until just combined (don't overmix).

Crumbly cookie dough in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Mix in the ground hazelnuts until they are spread evenly throughout the dough, still being careful to not overmix. The dough will be very crumbly.

Two cylinders of cookie dough on a countertop.

On a lightly floured surface, roll or press the dough into 2 equal cylinders, about 1 inch (2.54 cm) or so in diameter.

Two cookie dough cylinders wrapped in plastic wrap.

Wrap each well in plastic wrap. Use the wrap to help press the crumbly dough together into the correct shape - as round as possible. Chill in the fridge until firm, at least 2 hours. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C.

A cookie dough cylinder cut into cookie slices.

Carefully cut the chilled, firm cookie dough into slices about ½ inch (1.27 cm) thick. I got 15 cookies from each roll, for a total of 30 cookies. Bake before the cookies have time to warm up again.

Tip: I like to rotate the dough cylinders shortly into the chilling process so that they don't sink down while they are still soft and have a slightly flat edge. This rotating will help you achieve a perfectly round cookie.

Baked shortbread cookies cooking on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.

Place the cookies on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. They won't spread much, but give them enough room to breath. Then bake for 10 minutes. Don't let them get to the point of browning.

Baked shortbread cookies cooking on a parchment paper-covered cooling rack.

They will be very delicate when they first come out of the oven, so cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way. The cookies should be completely cooled before adding the glaze.

Maple glaze

Sifted confectioner's sugar and salt in a bowl.

Sift the powdered sugar and salt into a small bowl. This will help keep your glaze smooth and lump-free.

Next, whisk in the (not too hot) melted butter and maple syrup. It will turn into a thick frosting at this point.

Whisk in water an ⅛ teaspoon at a time until you get it runny enough to have a nice glaze consistency but still thick enough to cling to the cookies. (If you accidentally add too much, you can thicken it again with more sugar.)

A hand dipping a cookie into a bowl of glaze.

Dip the cooled cookies halfway into the glaze.

Then wipe the underside of the cookie on the side of the bowl to remove any excess glaze, preventing the extra from pooling around the cookie while it sets.

Glaze-dipped shortbread cookies on parchment paper.

Place the dipped cookies on some parchment paper and give them time to let the glaze set. The set glaze will be firm and dry to the touch, and the hazelnut shortbread cookies will be able to be stacked together.

Put some in a little box with a decorative ribbon to give this tasty treat as a charming gift. Or, be a little selfish and keep them all for yourself. No one will blame you 😉

Two hazelnut shortbread cookies on a plate painted with maple leaves, beside a cooling rack covered in more cookies.

Equipment

To make this recipe you will need the following:

Kitchen scale or measuring cup set
Food processor or blender
Stand mixer or hand mixer - You can also do the mixing by hand. Just ensure that you have really beat the butter until it becomes pale and fluffy.
Rubber spatula
Mixing bowls
Plastic wrap
Parchment paper
Baking sheet
Whisk
Knife

food processor

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stand mixer

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baking sheet

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Storage

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Shortbread cookies last for a long time - up to 1 month! But because of the glaze on these cookies, I recommend keeping them for up to 2 weeks.

If you want to freeze these cookies, I recommend waiting to glaze them until they have thawed. The cookies themselves can be frozen for up to 6 months. Set on a countertop to thaw to room temperature.

A hand holding a hazelnut shortbread cookie with a bite missing, showing the tender inside.

Tips for Success

Room temperature butter - Make sure your butter is at room temperature before beginning. And when you are beating it, make sure you keep beating until it has become pale in colour and fluffy.
Weigh to be sure - You should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar to get the best results. However, if you have to use a measuring cup rather than a kitchen scale, stir the ingredient to create air pockets then gently spoon it into the cup and level off the top. Do not scoop or you will get too much.
Chilling - Don't skip the chilling process. If you bake them without chilling first, they will spread and lose their shape in the oven.

📖 Recipe