Hazelnut Chocolate Sandwich Cookies {gluten free + vegan}

These Hazelnut Chocolate Sandwich Cookies are made with very clean simple ingredients that leave you with an elegant and simple cookie to prepare. They are gluten-free and vegan.

Are you ready for Turkey day?

I went to the grocery store yesterday……. yep, not the brightest idea.

First off the temperature here in Cincinnati was 76° on Friday and yesterday we had snow flurries and a wind chill of 31°. That is awful enough, but because half the known population of Cincinnati was at my local Kroger yesterday morning I had to park in Syberia because there were no parking spots left.  Of course, when I left my house my brain was remembering Friday weather and I did not dress appropriately for the long walk.

Let me just say ouch!

Then once I got into the store, there was maybe only 3 green beans left for sale, there was literally one sweet potato left. ONE! What can you do with one sweet potato?

They did have plenty of fresh turkey’s and one in the size I needed not a gargantuan bird that was pumped full of steroids, but an actual organic free range turkey in a normal respectable size.  Shocking I know, but I was quite pleased.

They had enough butter, which last year I remember my Kroger ran out of the butter brand I like the week before Thanksgiving.  I was clearly scarred from the experience as I remember something so remote and I am writing to you about now.  Don’t judge I am a foodie girl remember!

Once I had my cart filled I headed to the front of the store ready to check out and head home to store all my turkey day goodies, to be shocked once again that every register was open {never seen that before} and the lines were six to seven carts deep.  You know that TV screen your grocery hangs from the ceiling alerting you to the wait time in each line so you can make sure you jump in the fastest lane. Mine was telling me the fastest wait time was in isle 11 at a speedy 30 minutes.

I am not kidding 30 minutes wait in the check out line. 30 minutes!

Now I don’t think I waited that long, but I waited long enough.

Needless to say, I was ready to head home.  I pushed my cart of goodies back out to Syberia to load up in my car. By the time I was finished I had tears streaming down my face from the wind and I had lost feeling in a few of my fingers. I got in my car with a sigh, pumped the heat headed home and about half way there I remembered I left a bag of groceries on the bottom of my cart.  It may or may not contained my potatoes. Sigh……

So are you wondering what I did to cheer myself up after the exhausting and upsetting grocery excursion? I made cookies. Hazelnut Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, which is what any good respecting chocolate loving lady like myself would do! Am I correct?

These cookies and that was the second time I made these. The recipe is super simple to prepare and the second time around I added way more ganache in the center because I deserved extra ganache!

WHY YOU WANT TO MAKE THESE HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE SANDWICH COOKIES.

You want to add these cookies to your holiday baking tray.  I think hazelnuts as the quintessential holiday nut, I am not sure why I believe that, but I do.

I don’t have any other holiday cookie recipe that I make with a regularity that uses hazelnuts, so this is a great additional flavor to the pine nut, and almond paste cookie flavors.  It is a quick and clean recipe only taking minutes to prepare. You only need a food processor or blender if you are making your own hazelnut flour, a few bowls, and a baking sheet.

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Hazelnut Chocolate Sandwich Cookies adapted from Donna Hay recipe

Servings 18

Author Amy Stafford

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 3/4 cup hazelnut flour place whole hazelnuts in food processor and process until small sand like consistency

Wet ingredients:

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup coconut oil melted

Ganache:

• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips {60% cocoa}

Instructions

Cookie:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment
3. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl, whisk to combine
4. Whisk together wet ingredients and slowly pour into dry ingredients stirring until evenly blended.
5. Form dough into teaspoon size balls and gently flatten on a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 14-15 minutes or until cookies just starts to brown around edges.
7. Remove and place on a rack to cool.
8. Continue with remaining dough.
9. While cookies are baking make the ganache.
10. Combine ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and cook for 45-50 seconds, remove and stir to blend completely. Set aside and the mixture will thicken.

Recipe Notes

Store cookies in airtight container for 3-5 days.

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