Chocolate Chip Cookies with Roasted Hazelnuts

As if classic chocolate chip cookies weren't enough of a deliciously sweet indulgence, I've gone and jazzed these up with some crunchy roasted hazelnuts for a slightly more sophisticated flavor. Perfect with a cup of coffee or even a glass of ice-cold milk, these delicious homemade cookies taste like they're from a fancy bake shop, with a flavorful surprise in each bite!

Chocolate Chip Cookies Get Fancy with Roasted Hazelnuts

There's a precious and beloved little cafe not too far from our home that serves delicious specialty coffees, pastries and desserts in the adjoining little “to go” portion of their shop.

My hubby and I love to stop by and treat ourselves to an interesting treat that they've freshly baked up to go with our cappuccino or Americano, and it never disappoints.

This little gem is right up our alley, so to speak, and I'm always impressed at how the folks there can take a common variety of cookie or bar, jazz it up a little with some unexpected ingredients, and turn it into something a bit over-the-top and really interesting. It's one of my favorite experiences when it comes to food!

The last time I was there, I picked out an oatmeal chocolate chip type of cookie with lots of nuts and currants, and thoroughly enjoyed it. And that, of course, got my creative juices flowing thinking about how I would jazz up a classic like a chocolate chip cookie and make it a bit more sophisticated and “fancy”, with some really delicious and complimentary flavors...

I came up with these soft, thick and chunky chocolate chip cookies with roasted hazelnuts because those flavors just seem to naturally come together really well. I love chocolate, and love the warm, nutty flavor of hazelnuts, along with their delicious crunch!

Have I by chance enticed your sweet tooth yet? 😉

How to Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies with Some Added Flair

My base recipe for these delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies is a pretty classic one, calling for lots of brown sugar, butter, fragrant vanilla, and good quality chocolate chips (they make a big difference).

In my recipe, I actually use a tad more flour in my recipe than many standard chocolate chip cookie recipes do, and I find this helps the cookie keep it's shape with the copious amount of butter always called for in a cookie recipe. It also provides the cookie with a little more thickness and “bite”.

I also love a slightly higher ratio of brown sugar to granulated sugar, and go a bit heavy-handed with the vanilla—how can 1 teaspoon ever be enough?

And for that nutty, aromatic crunch, I opt for roasted hazelnuts, very roughly chopped, to allow for some of that wonderful chunky and crunchy texture with each bite.

Here's a peek at how I make my chocolate chip cookies with roasted hazelnuts: (or just jump to the full recipe...)

1. To get started, I whisk together the dry ingredients, and set those aside for a moment.
2. I add room temp butter and both the sugars to the bowl of my electric mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, and mix those together until fluffy.
3. Next, I add in the eggs and pure vanilla extract, and continue to mix just until incorporated (I use a spatula to scrape the sides of my bowl as needed).
4. I finish the cookie dough by carefully adding in the dry ingredients; and once those are fairly incorporated, I add in the chocolate chips and roughly-chopped roasted hazelnuts, then mix just until those are incorporated.
5. The cookie dough is chilled for 24 hours (or at least 4 hours), then scooped using a 1 ½ ounce scoop, rolled into an even ball, topped with a few extra chocolate chips to make things extra pretty, and placed onto the baking sheet to bake for roughly 13 minutes, or until pale golden.
6. Before serving, I allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack, then enjoy.

Recipe

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Roasted Hazelnuts

by Ingrid Beer

Print Recipe

Soft, thick, and chunky, these chocolate chip cookies have a fancy and flavorful “bake shop” twist with crunchy roasted hazelnuts!

Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Yield: 32 cookies

Nutrition Info: 182 calories (per cookie)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 13 minutes
Total time: 33 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 (12 ounce) bag Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips, ¼ (slightly generous) cup reserved to press into dough balls before baking
• 1 cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Preparation:

1. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside these dry ingredients for a moment.
2. To the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the room temp butter and the two sugars, and mix together for a couple of minutes until well combined; add in the eggs, one at a time to incorporate, followed by the vanilla, and continue to mix until those are incorporated, scraping the side of the bowl as needed.
3. Next, slowly and carefully begin adding in your dry ingredients, taking care to keep the mixer on low/slow as to not to have things fly out of your mixer, making a mess; once the dry ingredients are fairly well incorporated, pour in the chocolate chips and the roughly-chopped roasted hazelnuts, and mix just until those are blended in.
4. Chill the dough for at least 4 hours, preferably 24 hours.
5. Once the cookie dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350°, and line a couple of large baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. To make the cookies, use a 1 ½ ounce scoop and scoop out the dough, placing it onto the baking sheet to hold; once all the dough is scooped, roll each portion into a round ball shape, press about 3 of the reserved chocolate chips into the top of each dough ball to make them extra pretty, and place onto the baking sheet with enough space in between so that the cookies don't bake into each other.
7. Place the cookies into the oven, and bake for about 13 to 13 ½ minutes, or until a pale, golden-brown.
8. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for a minute on the baking sheet, and then, using a spatula, carefully move the warm cookies to a wire cooling rack to completely cool before enjoying.

Tips & Tidbits for my Chocolate Chip Cookies with Roasted Hazelnuts:

• Good quality chocolate for lots of flavor: Over the years of experimenting with making the best homemade chocolate chip cookies, I've found my personal favorite chocolate chip to be the “Guittard” brand, semi-sweet. The flavor of these chips is intensely chocolatey, really rich and delicious. So if you can, opt for a higher quality chocolate chip—it really makes the cookies taste incredible and indulgent!
• A bit more flour for shape and texture: For my base cookie dough recipe, I use ¼ cup more flour than most classic recipes, and I've found this to help the cookie to spread less during baking and remain slightly thicker.
• Chill the cookie dough: Allowing the chocolate chip cookie dough to chill for 24 hours will it to chill and rest, and prevent spreading when baking. But if you don't want to wait quite that long, make sure to chill at least 4 hours—it'll make a difference. You can even prep this dough a couple of days ahead, and keep it in the fridge.
• Make ahead chocolate chip cookies: Once prepared, simply scoop the room temp dough and roll it carefully into dough balls, then place onto a large, parchment-lined baking sheet, and into the freezer to firm (about 20 minutes); then, carefully place them into a gallon-size ziplock bag, and keep frozen until ready to bake!

Craving more sweet, chocolatey treats? Check out this rich Chocolate Pudding, this Brownie Cake, these “Sweet Heat” Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies, or this Chocolate Banana Bread!