Guys, it’s been a crazy week here. And what’s the best way to celebrate the end of a crazy week?! With some thick, soft, fudgey, filled with mely dark chocolate chunk – VEGAN NUTELLA COOKIES!! I don’t mind if I do.
You see guys, last weekend, J and I made the big trip from Belgium over to my hometown of Toronto after two absolutely amazing years together in Leuven. We’ve moved into my parents place in the city until we get on our feet and find our bearings of the city. Oh, and I also started a new lovely job as a junior writer earlier this week!
Some weeks are full of change, excitement and those weeks call for chocolate and cookies. Preferably these Gluten Free Vegan Nutella Cookies warm from the oven served with a tall order of almond milk. 😉
These Vegan Nutella Cookies are based off my Grain Free Double Chocolate Cookies. These Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies are one of my favorite cookies. They are extremely fudgey, soft (with the perfect amount of slight chewiness) and filled with Nutella flava from the hazelnut meal used as the base of these cookiess. Oh, did I mention there is absolutely ZERO flour in these babies?! The hazelnut meal + cacao powder will be sure to send you into divine, decadent, chocolate bliss! #EatHappyLiveHappy
If you do bake these Gluten Free Vegan Nutella Cookies at home, I love seeing what you make! Share your creations with me by writing your feedback in the comments below, tagging me (#cearaskitchen) in your beautiful shots on Instagram or sharing your photo on my Ceara’s Kitchen Facebook page. Wishing you a wonderful weekend guys!
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed (for flax "egg")
- ¼ cup cocoa butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tbsp unsulfured molasses
- 1¾ cup hazelnut meal*
- ¼ cup cacao power or high quality cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar or cane sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp dark chocolate chunks (cut up into small chunks)
- In a large bowl (this will be the bowl where you add the rest of your wet ingredients later), add ground flax seed with 3 tbsp of water. Stir and set aside while you prepare your dry ingredients.
- Add all your dry ingredients to a medium size bowl (hazelnut meal, cacao powder, coconut sugar, baking soda and sea salt).
- Give the flax egg a quick stir. It should be thickened by now into an "egg-like" consistency, if it's not, leave it to thicken for a couple more minutes. Add the remaining wet ingredients to the large bowl (melted cocoa butter, vanilla extract, maple syrup and unsulfured molasses). Whisk together for a couple minutes until a thick, "caramel-like" mixture forms. (Note: If your cocoa butter is not already melted, place a bit of hard cocoa butter in a bowl for 15 second increments in the microwave).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until the cookie dough comes together. At first the dough will seem a bit dry but the natural oil from the hazelnuts will start to release as you stir everything together. I like to mix the dough together with clean hands to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
- Cover the bowl with the cookie dough and place in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours. This helps the dough bind together and makes the cookies puff up in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. On a lined cookie sheet, scoop 10 cookies (I like to pack the cookie dough into an ice cream scoop) onto the cookie sheet. Roll them into balls and flatten them out slightly with the palm of your hand. Press chocolate chunks onto the top of the cookies. Bake for 9 - 11 minutes. It is very important to let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a plate. This allows the cookies to harden and bind together. Enjoy!
8 comments
These look amazing! Would love to make some. Is it ok to substitute cocoa butter for coconut oil? Thank you!
Hi Lana! Thank you 🙂 I haven’t personally tried subbing coconut oil so can’t guarantee the results. It might work in these cookies but I am not entirely sure. Let me know your results if you end up baking them!
Omg Ceara!! I’m drooling over these! I really wish I had some at this very moment! I love how thick and chewy these look and that you added the chocolate chunks! I made your other almond meal chocolate chunk cookies awhile back if you remember, and they were excellent! So, I know these would be delicious too…I especially love the thickenss of them…I tend to prefer thicker cookies over thin cookies. They are gorgeous and such a wonderful recipe!!
<3 Thanks my friend :) It's all about the big chocolate chunks!!! xo
That is so exciting!!! I am glad you got a couple of years in Belgium but it must feel nice to be home again. I have all of your cookies ingredients and I am going in!
Thank you Ginny 🙂 Would love to know how the cookies turn out! <3
These cookies look delicious, Ceara! I bet they taste even better than Nutella since they’re made with all real ingredients 🙂 Congrats on your new beginnings in Toronto!
<3 Thank you Mel! I appreciate it, xo!