Easy Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
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These Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies are fudgy, cakey, and decadently delicious, with a dollop of chocolate hazelnut spread in the center and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts. A simple and easy sweet treat in less than 30 minutes, with no need for chilling the dough.
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If you love the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts, these two-bite treats are for you! Small morsels of soft chocolate goodness beneath a crunchy topping of toasted nuts and chocolate hazelnut spread.
If you’re a brownie fan, specifically a fudgy cakey brownie fan, or a lover of thumbprint cookies (my hand is raised here), these chocolaty cookies are for you!
One of my favorite brownie recipes on the site is Fudgy Cakey Family Size Brownies. The texture of these cookies are similar to this always-popular brownie recipe.
Or, if you simply love double chocolate cookies (a little like Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies with Espresso), you will also adore these!
What to Love About Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Here are my top 3 reasons I love to make these cookies.
- No dough chilling needed: Seriously, that alone makes me love this recipe!
- Decadent chocolate cookies are made even more delicious with toasted hazelnuts.
- Thumbprint cookies are festive, fun, and vintage. (Idea: make these in the fall and freeze them for Christmas cookies!)
Ingredients for Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Another simple cookie with equally simple pantry ingredients. While the exact measurements are in the recipe card below, here is what you’ll need:
- Butter: It’s important to use softened butter for the best cookie texture. It incorporates into the batter much easier when softened to room temperature. I’m often asked about using salted and unsalted butter. I’ve been opting for salted butter lately for flavor. However, you can more easily control salt levels by using unsalted butter, so use your preferred in this recipe.
- Sugar: You will need a combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Flour: All-purpose flour
- Large egg for binding the ingredients together
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: I prefer the flavor of Dutch process cocoa powder, but use what you have in the pantry.
- Vanilla extract and salt for flavor
- Baking soda for leavening
- Chocolate chips: I’m using dark chocolate chips, but use your favorite
- Toasted hazelnuts, chopped, to be used in the cookie dough and for sprinkling on top
- Chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutella) for the center of the thumbprints.
How to Make Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below, but here is a quick overview of how to make these easy chocolate hazelnut cookies.
Begin by preheating the oven to 375° and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Making the batter: Cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in the egg and vanilla and mix until fluffy. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until just blended, and fold in chocolate chips and 1/3 cup hazelnuts.
Shape the cookies: Using a small cookie scoop (affiliate link), roll dollops of cookie dough into balls and place them on the baking sheet. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie and pipe or spoon chocolate hazelnut spread into the center. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts.
Bake the cookies: Bake for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) until the edges are set but the cookies are still soft. Optional Step: While the cookies are still hot, use a round cookie cutter or glass larger than the cookie and twirl cookies for a round shape.
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Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I love Dutch process)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts chopped and divided
- 1/3 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream butter, brown and white sugar in a bowl or stand mixer until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla; mix until fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the butter mixture. Beat until just blended. Fold in the chocolate chips and 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts.
- Using a small cookie scoop (affiliate link), roll dollops of cookie dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet spaced about 1 inch apart.
- Press a thumb or a measuring teaspoon into the center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Pipe or spoon chocolate hazelnut spread into the indentation of each cookie. Sprinkle the tops with remaining chopped hazelnuts.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies) until the edges have set but the cookies are still soft to the touch.
- Optional Step: While the cookies are still hot, use a round cookie cutter or glass that is larger than the cookie, twirl the cookie inside the cutter to give the cookies a round shape.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.