hazelnut – Feasting Is Fun

Hello lovely people, I have finally managed to come up with a Gluten Free cookie. As many of my regular readers may be aware, I’ve recently been having seizures. This has has had a MASSIVE impact on my life and the lives of our family. One of the biggest, non physical impacts is that I cannot drive for the foreseeable future. So my wonderful mummy has been collecting the children from school for us – everyday. Such a huge, selfless, commitment. As she is following a Gluten Free eating plan I wanted to make her a ‘treat’, hence Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free - if you can't eat Gluten, you can have these!! — Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free – if you can’t eat Gluten, you can have these!!

I used Doves Farm Gluten Free Flour and Biona Hazelnut Butter, both items were purchased by myself. The Hazelnut Butter was bought to make Hazelnut Ice Cream (seriously good, will post recipe soon), the Gluten Free Flour was purchased for the sole reason of developing Gluten Free recipes, with Mum in mind. The texture of the cookies is very biscuity, not too dry, but definitely not a soft cookie. Using Doves Farm Gluten Free flour, there is no difference in taste or texture, when compared with White Wheat Flour in this recipe.

More than anything I am just so pleased to have made my Mummy some cookies and that I get to share the recipe with you! If you have a nut allergy you can absolutely substitute the Hazelnut Butter for Unsalted Butter. So hopefully everybody can enjoy Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free!

Mmm yummy - Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free. — Mmm yummy – Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free.

Our window cleaner happened to be cleaning the windows and offered to try a Cookie. Cheeky, yes! But he always does such a good job and I do like to share. He gave them a big thumbs up, remarking on how un-doughy they were for Gluten Free. Always good to have an unbiased opinion. The Green Goddess will be sent hers to try later today, but the opinion I’m most awaiting is my Mummy’s. After all she was the inspiration behind them.

So enough waffling, here’s what you need to make Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free.

Recipe : Makes 20-30 Cookies

150g/5oz Caster Sugar

175g/6oz Hazelnut Butter

50g/2oz Unsalted Butter

Pinch of Salt

1 Whole Large Egg – free range if poss

1tsp Vanilla Extract

250g/9oz Gluten Free Flour – Doves Farm

175g/6oz Chocolate Chunks

Method : Preheat oven to 175C/160C fan

Place the hazelnut butter, butter, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Whisk until well combined.

The whisked butter/sugar mixture will seem a little grainy in texture – that’s normal.

Add the whole egg and vanilla extract. Whisk for a good couple of minutes, until the mixture is lighter in colour and texture.

Add the Gluten Free Flour and the Chocolate Chunks. Stir until all the ingredients are combined.

I have used Callebaut Chocolate Chunks, these are coated in corn flour, which is Gluten Free.

This is how your Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough Gluten Free, should look.

On parchment lined baking sheets, form small, balls of cookie dough.

Space the cookie dough balls evenly apart.

Using clean damp hands, use you fingers to press down and flatten the cookie balls.

Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden.

Delicious golden Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free.

Remove from the oven when cooked. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for 10 mins and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free - these cooling cookies smell amazing. A mixture of chocolate, hazelnut and vanilla - sooo good! — Hazelnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Gluten Free – these cooling cookies smell amazing. A mixture of chocolate, hazelnut and vanilla – sooo good!

I made 24 cookies. Next time I will flatten them a little more, I wasn’t sure how far they would spread. They don’t!!!!

Now I can’t wait to see my Mummy to give her some cookies and see what she thinks?

NOTE : These cookies are at their best eaten on the day they are baked.

To store the cookie dough, wrap in cling film and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Please let me know if you try these?

Happy Baking and Sharing.

Sammie x

Hello lovelies, if you’ve got the Monday, back to work blues, or just fancy cake, then I have the ultimate solution, my Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake.

Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake - light and moist. — Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake – light and moist.

This Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake is so beautiful thanks to the Bundt tin moulding and the delicious topping of chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. It is so easy to make and delicious to eat!

Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake - delicious! — Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake – delicious!

Making this cake was only my second attempt at using a Bundt tin. I gotta tell you, I love them!!! The beautiful moulding of the finished cake makes it look way more professional than I could take credit for. I also made sure I used a skewer to check the cake was cooked through (something I never normally do). The only potential problem with using a Bundt tin, is that it’s hard to specify a size, for example if I’m baking a cake in a regular cake tin I can give you it’s dimensions, with a Bundt tin that’s not possible. It’s all curved and moulded, with a hole in the middle!!! Fortunately the tin I used had a 6 cup measurement mark on the outside. So I just kinda winged it with the ingredient quantities and prayed for the best – and it worked!

Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake - what's not to like? — Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake – what’s not to like?

Recipe :

175g/6oz Caster Sugar

175g/6oz Unsalted Butter – room temp

Pinch of Salt

1tsp Vanilla Extract

3 Large Eggs – free range if poss

100g/4oz Blanched Hazelnuts

100g/4oz Plain White Flour

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

3 tbsp Cocoa Powder

50ml/2fl oz Whole Milk

150g Milk Chocolate – I used Green&Blacks

Method : Preheat oven to 180C/165C fan

Thoroughly grease the Bundt tin with butter.

In a bowl thoroughly whisk/beat the sugar, salt and butter, until light and creamy.

Take half of the hazelnuts and process/chop them until they are very fine – similar to ground almonds.

Into the bowl add the eggs, chopped hazelnuts and sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. — Into the bowl add the eggs, chopped hazelnuts,milk and sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.

Whisk/beat until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Using a rubber spatula give the cake batter a couple of good stirs to ensure all the ingredients, especially at the bottom of the bowl, are combined.

Fill the Bundt tin with the cake batter, smoothing out the surface.

Place the Bundt tin in the centre of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. The cake is cooked when an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Once cooked remove the cake from the oven.

Allow the Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake to cool in the tin for 10 mins.

Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake - soo pretty! — Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake – soo pretty!

Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Lightly chop the remaining hazelnuts and dry roast them, on a baking sheet for 5 minutes, after removing the cake from the oven. Remove and allow to cool.

To decorate the cake :

Break up the milk chocolate and melt either over a double boiler or in a microwave.

Remove the chocolate before it has fully melted and continually stir, allowing the residual heat to melt all of the chocolate.

Pour the melted chocolate around the top of the cake. The chocolate will naturally flow down the sides and into the middle of the cake - yum! — Pour the melted chocolate around the top of the cake. The chocolate will naturally flow down the sides and into the middle of the cake – yum!

Milk chocolate topped Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake.

Next sprinkle the toasted chopped hazelnuts over the top of the cake. Now all you have to wait for is the chocolate to set – enough time to pop the kettle on, phone a friend and get ready to dive in and enjoy!!

Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake - slices into portions perfectly. — Chocolate Hazelnut Bundt Cake – slices into portions perfectly.

I really am so pleased with this cake, it’s scrumptious and easy – what more could you ask for??

Do you know a way of measuring Bundt Tins??

Sammie x