Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies (Vegan Gluten-Free)
Easy, chocolatey and hazelnutty, these Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies have two delicious hazelnut shortbread biscuits sandwich with chocolate mousse or spread. They are vegan, gluten-free and fun to make.
Linzer cookies are traditionally Austrian and feature a flour and nutty biscuit sandwiched with jam and a lattice top. This chocolate variety celebrates the very best elements of the classic cookie with a chocolate-hazelnut twist – that makes them taste like chocolate spread (aka Nutella) in every bite.
These Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies are:
- Chocolatey
- Hazelnutty
- Crispy and crunchy with a creamy filling
- Easy and fun to make
- Naturally vegan and easily gluten-free
- Versatile
- Great for afternoon tea and for holidays
There is something so special about sandwich cookies and I do love them as a few other recipes prove. If you are already convinced, head to the recipe card below to make these Linzer cookies right now, or let’s see what goes into them in more detail.
What ingredients do we need for these Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies?
- Hazelnuts: when combined with the chocolate, this makes the cookies taste like chocolate spread. Add them to a blender to grind into fine meal texture.
- Plain or GF plain flour: this keeps the cookie dough really light and delicious. When combined with the nuts, this makes for a delicious and simple cookie dough.
- Vegan butter: this is key for the buttery taste of the cookies. It is best to use a block of butter rather than margarine spread but these may work with coconut oil. The key is to allow the butter to rest at room temperature for a while to soften.
- Maple syrup: this adds a lovely stickiness and sweetness to the dough. You can use any sticky syrup like agave, date or vegan honey.
- Coconut sugar: I love the colour and flavour of coconut sugar but you can also add caster, golden caster or light brown sugar.
- Vanilla: for the classic cookie flavour.
- Salt: to enhance the flavours.
For the chocolate filling, I use a deliciously creamy and rich mousse from Fancy Plants which works really well, but you can also use any chocolate spread or mousse. You could use my chocolate mousse recipe used for this tart filling, make some Mocha Almond Butter or your favourite chocolate spread.
The Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies are easy and fun to make plus they are so impressive to make for guests, friends and family. If you are looking to add that finishing touch, sprinkle on some icing sugar. There are a few more things when making these cookies to plan ahead.
How do I make the perfect cookies?
Make sure you follow the method carefully to ensure these cookies are the best they can be.
- Chill the dough. The dough must rest after making it in the fridge as a ball before rolling it out. Once cut out, you must rest the cookies for a second time in the fridge before they go straight into the oven. This prevents the cookies from spreading and losing their shape.
- Be careful and patient. Work carefully with the cookie dough as it’s quite delicate and make sure the work surface is well-floured. If the cookies are stuck, gently use a floured angled palette knife to slide underneath the cookies.
- Cookie cutters are key. You don’t need to buy fancy cookie cutters, just make sure you have one round cookie that will be the top and the bottom and have a smaller shape to cut out a shape in the tops. Bake these mini cut-out pieces as mini cookies to enjoy.
Are these cookies gluten-free?
Yes, these are easily gluten-free if you use a 1:1 baking blend of gluten-free flour. All blends will differ slightly so use the one you trust – xanthan gum is a must to prevent these from crumbling.
Can I make these nut-free?
I have not made these nut-free yet but I can imagine if you use seeds in place of the hazelnuts, they well be great. Sunflower, hemp or pumpkin seeds will work well if you grind them up as in the recipe. Do not use flax or chia seeds as these absorb too much liquid.
How long will these last?
It depends on the filling you use. The chocolate mousse I used was quite wet so it softened the cookies after 1 day but they are delicious even when they are softer. If you use a chocolate spread that’s less wet, these will last 2-3 days or 3-5 days in the fridge. You can make these cookies ahead of time and fill them just before serving, too. Un-filled cookies will keep for 5-7 days in an airtight container.
What can I use to fill these Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies?
I use a deliciously creamy and rich chocolate mousse for the filling, but any chocolate mousse dessert pot will be great. You can use a dairy-free chocolate spread, make your own Mocha Almond Butter, or make the chocolate mousse filling here. Any nut butter or seed butter will be delicious or try them with jam!
If you are looking for more cookies to make, how about my:
- Vegan Brownie Sprinkle Cookies
- Vegan Monster Cookies
- Strawberry Shortbread Sandwiches
- Coffee Walnut Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies
- Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies (Vegan Gluten-Free)
Easy, chocolatey and hazelnutty, these Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies have two delicious hazelnut shortbread biscuits sandwich with chocolate mousse or spread. They are vegan, gluten-free and fun to make.
Ingredients
- For the cookies:
- 100g hazelnuts
- 175g plain or GF plain flour
- 105g vegan butter, softened
- 60ml maple syrup
- 25g coconut sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- A pinch of salt For the filling:
- 120-160g chocolate spread or mousse
- Icing sugar, to dust
Directions
- Allow to butter to rest at room temperature for an hour to soften. Blitz the hazelnuts to a fine meal (like the texture of ground almonds).
- Add the butter, maple syrup, sugar and vanilla essence to a bowl and using an electric hand whisk or mixer, beat until light and smooth.
- Sift in the flour, add in the ground hazelnuts and salt and beat again to a thick and smooth cookie dough. Bring to a ball and wrap in plastic wrap to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Prepare 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Dust a surface with flour and roll out the cookie dough to about ½ cm thick, making sure it is not getting stuck on the surface, adding more flour as needed. Cut out about 50 cookies, cutting out a small shape or hole in half of them, to make the tops. Keep the small cookies to bake, too. roll out the pastry as necessary to use it all.
- Carefully place all the cut out cookies on the baking sheets and chill in the fridge again for 30 minutes. This is really important so do not skip this step.
- When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 160Fan/180*C. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, turning the trays 180 degrees halfway through. if baking more than one cookies sheet at a time, also swap these round within the oven at this point. Keep any trays in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Allow to rest on the trays for 10 minutes and then transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool fully.
- Once cool, pipe or spread the chocolate filling onto the base cookies and sandwich together with the top cookie. Dust with icing sugar.
- Once sandwiched together, best eaten fresh or the next day as the filling will start to soften the cookies, if using a chocolate mousse. Store in the fridge for 1-2 days in an airtight container. If using a chocolate spread, they will last for 2-3 days at room temperature in an airtight container or 3-5 days in the fridge. Un-filled cookies will last 5-7 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
I look forward to hearing what you think of these Chocolate Hazelnut Linzer Cookies so please let me know what you think in the comments below. If you do make these, I’d love to see your cookies so please tag me in them – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With chocolate hazelnut Linzer love x
The orignal recipe was made with Fancy Plants UK although this blog post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own!
Hi Amy. Looks delicious 😋 as always and never tried hazelnut before but love the idea of chocolate 🍫! Very beautifully presented and super photography as always and saved to my WordPress saved collection
thank you Sophie, I hope you will love the cookies.