Coffee Hazelnut Shortbread is packed with butter, a hint of coffee, and a toasty hazelnut crunch. Honestly, what could be cozier?
If there were ever a warm and cozy cookie, this is it! Coffee Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies are infused with the aromatic flavors of roasted coffee and crunchy hazelnuts. With hazelnuts at their peak in fall, these cookies are made for the cooler months (and your holiday cookie platter).
Shortbread is simple, timeless, and elemental. Just flour, sugar, and butter expertly combined in a formula that’s been around for centuries. Unlike the cookie dough you’re used to, there’s no egg, no baking powder or soda ~ and that’s exactly what makes it so special.
coffee hazelnut shortbread ingredient notes
- butter
- I use salted butter, but if yours is not, just add 1/2 teaspoon to the dough. The salt brings out the nutty flavor.
- sugar
- I sometimes make shortbread with brown sugar, and sometimes even with powdered sugar, but here I’m using regular white sugar.
- AP flour
- hazelnuts
- I buy whole raw hazelnuts and toast them first: spread on a plate and microwave for 2 minutes. Toasted nuts are fabulous in shortbread, try my Butter Pecan Shortbread and my Maple Walnut Shortbread Cookies.
- instant espresso
- This is powdered instant coffee, not coffee grounds. I use Medaglia D’oro because that’s what my store stocks but there are other brands, here.
- vanilla and almond extract
- milk chocolate
- Use chopped bar chocolate or chips melted down for a dip or drizzle.
give your coffee hazelnut shortbread a dip
In milk chocolate, of course! If you’re a purist you can leave these cookies plain, they’ll be toasty and delicious. But I can’t resist ~ a thick chocolate dip takes them over the top.
Normally I’m a dark chocolate kind of girl, but I think milk chocolate goes especially well with the coffee hazelnut combo and makes this shortbread holiday worthy.
cut out or slice and bake shortbread?
This easy shortbread recipe can be rolled out on a lightly floured surface and cut with your favorite cookie cutter, or it can be formed into a log for slicing and baking. The log can also be chilled or frozen for later use. Pretty handy!
FOR CUT OUT COFFEE HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES: roll the dough out to 1/3 inch and cut with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter.
FOR SLICE AND BAKE COFFEE HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES: form the dough into a 10-12 inch log and slice into cookies.
- You can keep the log in the freezer to pull out when you need it.
Dessert and after dinner coffee in one!
Set out a plate of these cookies after a dinner party, with or without coffee.
Coffee hazelnut shortbread cookies would be a great hostess gift because many people who don’t drink coffee still love the taste.
This is a sophisticated ‘adult’ choice for your cookie loving friends during the holidays.
Coffee Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature, if you use unsalted butter add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the dough.
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 cup AP flour
- 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts*, rough chopped
chocolate dip
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 Tbsp butter or vegetable oil
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor (you can also use a hand mixer, or your hands) blend together the butter, sugar, and espresso powder. Mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Beat in the extracts and then slowly add the flour and hazelnuts with the mixer on low. When the soft dough comes together scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl well to get all the butter well incorporated.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disk. Roll out the dough to about 1/3 inch thick and cut out your cookies with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Reform the dough as necessary.
- Chill the cookies in the refrigerator while you preheat your oven to 350F.
- When the oven has come up to full temperature bake the cookies, in batches, for about 14 minutes. Note: ovens vary so I like to do a test cookie or two to check. You may need more or less time.
- Cool on the pan briefly before finishing on a rack.
- When the cookies are completely cool, melt the chocolate and butter or oil for about a minute in the microwave and the stir until completely smooth. If necessary heat in another 15 second burst to completely melt. Drizzle the surface or dunk your shortbread and place on parchment paper to harden. You can also simply dust them with powdered sugar if you don't want to use the chocolate.
- Cookies will last up to a week at room temperature, or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
we love everything chocolate hazelnut!
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The favor is not great. I was concerned when I saw the ratio of sugar to flour, but try not to change a recipe until I’ve made it once. If I did again, I would add a tiny bit of salt, add some Kailua and change the sugar to brown or regular sugar and increase to 1/3 or even 1/2 a cup.
Hi Sue,
I made this recipe twice. The first time was a total hit, the second something went off!
The only things I did different were softening the butter in the microwave as I forgot to leave it out, and rolling the dough out. The dough came together well and was workable, but the cookies didn’t have a crumbly texture. Any ideas what happened?
Not sure Alexandra, cookies are very sensitive to any little changes, even different pans can yield different results. If the cookies weren’t crumbly and tender like shortbread, it could be the dough was over worked?
Instead of rolling into a log, could I use a small cookie scoop instead? Would you suggest then flattening the cookie a little before baking? I’m assuming they won’t spread much during baking so it might be better to have a flatter cookie than a poofy one? I’m sure “poofy” is a technical term. Lol.
I would suggest either the log or rolling the dough out and cutting with a cookie cutter. You could roll and flatten, but it will look much different from the photos. It’s worth a try, for sure!
Hi there, just tries this recipe today! I had a couple of questions because mine definitely do not look like yours at all. Mine were much darker in color and spread only on the bottom. Maybe my espresso powder was too strong because I lost all the hazelnut flavor and it was all espresso. The texture was much too crumbly to dip in chocolate, they were falling apart in my hands. I thought maybe I under baked but the edges seems fully baked and same crumbly texture. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I left the dough in the refrigerator for over an hour. All in all I/m not giving up on this recipe because even though I lost the hazelnut, I was really pleased with the flavor because I love coffee! It’s a work in progress but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you for the recipe!
When I hear that someone gets really crumbly results I immediately think that maybe the dough wasn’t completely blended together, Amanda. The flour and soft butter should really meld together, and while shortbread does have a crumbly texture, it shouldn’t fall apart until it hits your mouth. Another thought is that you had a little bit more flour than you needed, sometimes that happens in measuring. Hope this helps.
Did you fine-grind your own hazelnuts? It would turn into hazelnut butter (paste), no? That wouldn’t work out, would it?
You could grind your own, Franklin, just don’t let it get to the paste stage!
If I leave out the espresso liquid, what other changes should I make to compensate? I’m looking for some brittleness in a shortbread cookie (hopefully with hazelnuts) rather than the seemingly soft, malleable kind like your peanut butter chocolate chip shortbread.
Thanks.
Hi Franklin — you can use the dry espresso powder, just cream it with the butter first. Use soft butter, and let it sit for a few minutes and the espresso grains will dissolve. Also, cut your cookies on the thin side for a crunchier texture!