Friday, February 11, 2011

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies


Giada's approach on the everyday chocolate chip cookie is a little bit different than most.  Old-fashioned oatmeal is finely grounded and added to the batter to help ensure a chewy cookie without all the texture of the oats.  Little bits of crunchy toffee are added to the batter, as well as chopped hazelnuts.  The end result is a beautifully thick cookie with a chewy texture and lots of crunchy bits.  A perfect treat for your Valentine, or yourself.  You choose. 

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, recipe found online
  • 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces English toffee candy  (recommended: Heath or Skor bar), finely chopped
  • 1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped
  • 1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the oats in a food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer,  beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips.
For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1-inch apart (do not flatten dough). Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will flatten slightly), about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!
Notes/Results:  This is an awesome cookie recipe, one that you can tell will be a winner from the time you starting mixing the ingredients.  They were great when eaten warm right out of the oven, but were even better (in my opinion) when they were allowed to cool and the toffee had a chance to set up.

Now Celebrating the Recipes of Giada De Laurentiis


22 comments:

  1. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a few of these and a tall glass of cold milk. I haven't been able to find hazelnuts in the market lately.

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  2. Just the way my husband loves his cookies Kim - chewy. For some reason I can't find hazelnuts. Guess I'll have to keep looking.

    Happy Valentine's day to you and yours.
    Sam

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  3. These are the chocolate chip cookies that never last in my house. I've tried loads of recipes but this one is always a hit. Your picture has me craving one!

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  4. I really wish I had a plate of these in front of me - they would see short shift!!

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  5. Adding this to my list right now! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

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  6. Yum...the hazelnut sounds awesome. These look great!

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  7. I LOVE the idea of grinding up the oats first. I am not a big fan of biting into an oatmeal cookie because of the texture, but I love the flavor it lends. Fabulous idea!

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  8. Delicious cookie! I love everything about that recipe!

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  9. Oh yum, I love chocolate paired with hazelnuts. Delicious!

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  10. why oh why is my husband allergic to hazelnuts! i might have to make these with almonds or peanuts instead because they look so good!

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  11. My appetite has been coming back and one of these cookies would be just the ticket for me!
    I can't thank you enough for your kind words about Kobe.
    Pets are family for us and it was tearing us up. Thank you for bening my friend.

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  12. Kim, these cookies look and sound wonderful, especially since I adore any- and everything made with Hazelnuts. I'm bookmarking this recipe for sure. Thanks for sharing :o)

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  13. These are packed with all my favorites! The hazelnuts and toffee and the oats - they give such great flavor to baked goods. What a heavenly cookie Kim!

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  14. If you still have warm cookies, I'll be right over. But I'm thinking they're probably gone by now!

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  15. As soon as I heard TOFFEE plus CHOCOLATE plus HAZELNUTS, I knew it was a winner. I might have to mix in some nutella though. For good measure.

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  16. I really think it's time to bake more cookies! I love hazelnuts and chocolate together. ;)

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  17. Oh, gorgeous looking cookies, Kim. I would love a couple for my supper right now - please :-)
    Sue

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  18. Love that stack of cookies--so yummy looking. I have a bunch of hazelnuts in the freezer--this looks like a great way to use them. ;-)

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  19. I don't think I've ever tried any of Giada's sweet recipes. It's usually all pasta or chicken dishes that I make!! I would love to try these though, I need to find somewhere where hazelnuts aren't SO expensive though! :-/

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  20. Kim, these do look like a great cookie. I love the addition of the toffee candy and hazelnuts and of course the oatmeal means they're healthy and good for you, right? :o)

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  21. This looks like a totally awesome cookie for its ratio of goodies to dough. Also, I love hazelnuts, and I don't think that they get used enough in chocolate chip cookies. What an exciting and well deserved treat.

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  22. Mmmmm, toffee and hazelnuts; what a yummy cookie that has your endorsement for me to make soon! Hubby will eat the whole batch, Kim! LOL!

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