Gluten-free Spicy Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Chocolatey, gluten-free goodness

I made a plate of gluten-free Apple Ginger scones two days ago and they're already gone. Made with almond meal and completely dairy free, these scones were super healthy and delicious. I couldn't resist the plate sitting on my counter. The almond meal was the star of these little gems and so today, still feeling blue, I decided I needed to experiment with other nut meals. This time around? Hazelnut.

Hazelnut. This rich, semi-sweet, and robust little nut brings its distinct flavor to anything it is baked with. Goes perfectly with vanilla, perfectly with chocolate. My choice is always chocolate. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. What is better than chocolate? Honestly, nothing.

Chocolate cookies are not usually my thing. I gravitate towards vanilla based doughs. Strange, I know since I'm such a chocolate lover. This gluten-free recipe came to life from my favorite chocolate bar. The best chocolate bar on the planet. Chocolove's Chills & Cherries in Dark Chocolate. Sweet and spicy. It's like Angels and Demons but in chocolate bar form.

Ready-to-bake Hazelnut Chocolate Cookies

Freshly baked Gluten-free Spicy Chocolate cookies

Gluten-free Spicy Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Gluten-free cookies topped with Vegan Chocolate Panna Cotta Sauce

Hazelnut meal is the base of these gluten-free goodies

Gluten-free Spicy Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

This recipe found its way to me through a delicious bar of chocolate. Sipping on my nightly Mint Magic tea, eating a tiny square of Chills & Cherries chocolate, it hit me. This should be a cookie. I've been holding onto this thought for some time, never being quite sure what dough I wanted to use as my cookie base.

Then, came my almond meal scones. If I could easily make almond meal, why not use any other type of nut? I'm sure any nut could be the base of a scone or cookie. And what goes better with chocolate, chills and cherries than hazelnuts? Mmm, not much! So hazelnuts it is. And so I present to you my very own hazelnut meal spicy chocolate cookies.

Vegan chocolate icing on gluten-free Chocolate Cookies

Kick the heat up a little with these spicy gluten-free cookies

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts
• 3 tablespoons raw cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons raw cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (less if you want less of a kick, these were spicy!)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 organic free range egg
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375 degree F. 

Process your hazelnuts in a food processor until they're a sandy texture, about 1 minute. Pulse until you have the right consistency. Add your sugar and pulse a few times to combine. Transfer the hazelnut and sugar mixture to a large bowl.

Combine the cocoa, cayenne, salt, coconut and cherries with the hazelnut mixture. Stir it with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are combined.

In a small separate bowl, combine the egg, honey and vinegar. Mix it together like a scrambled egg and pour it over your dry ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the hazelnut spice mixture until you have a soft, gooey dough. 

On a parchment lined baking sheet, spoon the batter into balls and press to flatten them onto the paper. You want your cookies to be roughly 1/2" thick. Make them as small or as large as you want. As I've stated before, cookies are a very personal baked good, so make them how you like to enjoy them.

Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes. Be careful not to over cook these, the hazelnuts seem to bake faster than the almonds. I had mine in for 12 minutes and they were starting to burn. 

While your cookies are baking, make your panna cotta chocolate sauce.

Vegan Panna Cotta Chocolate Sauce

I found this recipe on My Man's Belly, a sassy blogger who often cooks Clean and gluten-free. This is based off her recipe for Chocolate Panna Cotta, I just adapted it to make a sauce. I will say, the consistency is very pudding-like, so go for less agar agar powder. 

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon agar agar powder (I used a full teaspoon and it was too much)
• 2 tablespoons raw cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 tablespoon raw honey

Place the almond milk and agar agar powder in a small sauce pan. Let still for about 5 minutes until the agar agar powder has softened. Whisk it together until the powder has fully dissolved.

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, honey and cocoa powder. Whisk this together until it forms a chocolatey looking sauce. 

Bring the almond milk to boil and turn down to simmer for 3 - 5 minutes. Add in your chocolate mixture and whisk until the sauce is combined. Cook for another 1 - 2 minutes and pull off the heat. Carefully drizzle your cookies with this chocolatey goodness!

Note: this sauce will harden like a pudding, so I suggest heating up your cookies before eating! It makes the chocolate sauce more melty and delicious.

Recipe serves 6 medium cookies