Hazelnut shortbread cookies, easily made in a tart pan, with a buttery, crumbly texture and rich hazelnut flavor that’s perfect for the holidays. Enjoy these cookies plain, dipped in your coffee, or topped with a swirl of chocolate hazelnut spread and chopped hazelnuts for a pretty presentation. Tuck a few of these hazelnut cookies into your Christmas cookie boxes for a treat everyone will love.
You might also love these chocolate hazelnut Linzer cookies, hazelnut maple sugar cookie bars, and no churn chocolate hazelnut ice cream.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make. The hazelnut cookie dough comes together fast in a food processor, and then you simply press it into a tart pan to bake. No rolling out dough or cutting cookies is required for this recipe.
Stays Fresh for Weeks. One of the best things about shortbread, besides how delicious it is, is that it has a very long shelf life. It will keep for weeks stored at room temperature, and for months in the freezer.
Versatile Recipe. You can cut hazelnut shortbread cookies into bars or wedges, or even bake them as individual cutout cookies in any shape you like. And if you don’t like hazelnuts, just use your favorite nut instead, such as pecans, almonds or walnuts.
Perfect for the Holidays. I always plan on a few shortbread cookie recipes when I plan the baking list for my Christmas cookie boxes, and they’re always the first cookies to disappear. Everyone loves their rich, buttery flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
High Altitude Tested. While today’s recipe will work at any altitude, high altitude bakers can be assured of amazing results, since I develop all of my recipes for Denver’s high altitude of 5,280 feet.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients & Equipment
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour to give the dough structure and strength.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens the shortbread, while the fine texture makes a more tender cookie than if you used granulated sugar.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the walnuts.
- Butter. A key ingredient in shortbread! The butter is what makes this walnut shortbread tender and rich, with a buttery, crumbly texture.
- Hazelnuts. Use raw, unsalted hazelnuts for this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor. I also have some hazelnut extract on hand that I used, but this is optional, since it’s not that common of an ingredient.
- Milk. You’ll need just a little milk to help moisten the dough and bind it together.
- Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. To serve the cookies, spread a little chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella) on individual cookies and sprinkle with more chopped hazelnuts.
- Food Processor. A food processor makes things a breeze when you’re making the cookie dough. You can also use a pastry cutter, but it takes a bit longer.
- Tart Pan. A tart pan with a removable bottom makes it really easy to remove the baked shortbread from the pan. I used a long pan, measuring 5 1/2 x 14 inches.
Instructions
Make, Cut and Chill the Dough
- In your food processor, measure the flour, powdered sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts. Pulse several times until well combined and the hazelnuts are finely chopped and dispersed throughout the mixture.
- With the processor running, drop the butter down the chute, a tablespoon at a time, and process the mixture until moist and crumbly.
- Add the vanilla extract, hazelnut extract and milk, and process just until the dough comes together into a dough ball.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and gather any dry floury bits together, shaping the dough into a ball, and lightly dusting it with a little extra flour.
- Press the dough into an even layer in your tart pan, dusting the top with a little more flour, if it’s sticking to your hands.
- Use a toothpick, skewer or cake tester to prick the dough all over – this is called “docking the dough”, and helps prevent it from puffing up as it bakes.
- Using a sharp, non-serrated knife, cut the dough in half, lengthwise down the middle of the pan. Now cut it horizontally into 12ths, so you have a total of 24 cookies. Dip the knife in flour as needed, to keep it from sticking to the dough. Cutting the dough in the pan before baking makes it much easier to cut without breaking it after it comes out of the oven.
- Refrigerate the shortbread for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 300 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the chilled shortbread for about 40 minutes, until the top looks golden brown and baked through.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately cut the shortbread again, following the same lines. Cool completely in the pan before removing the sides of the pan.
- Store the baked shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
- For serving your hazelnut shortbread cookies, use a small offset spatula to swirl some chocolate hazelnut spread on top of the cookies. Finely chop the remaining 1/4 cup hazelnuts, and sprinkle on top.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bake these in a round tart pan if I don’t have a long tart pan?
Yes, you can use a 9 inch round tart pan instead of the 5 1/2 x 14 inch long tart pan I used. See this recipe for maple walnut shortbread to see how I cut it into wedges.
What should I use if I don’t have tart pans?
Baking shortbread in a tart pan with a removable bottom makes it really easy to get the baked shortbread out of the pan. But if you don’t have a tart pan, you can use a 9-inch square baking dish instead. You will need to be sure to line your pan with parchment paper or baking paper so you can easily lift the cooled cookies out of the pan.
Will this recipe work for making hazelnut shortbread cutout cookies?
It sure will. This is a no spread cookie recipe, so for cutout shortbread cookies, follow the instructions in this vanilla shortbread cookie recipe.
Are shortbread cookies soft or crunchy?
Shortbread cookies are certainly not crunchy like biscotti, but they are firm, with a crumbly, buttery texture that’s absolutely wonderful.
How should I store the cookies?
Shortbread cookies stay fresh for a long time. You can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for several weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
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Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Food Processor or Pastry Cutter
- Long Tart Pan with Removable Bottom (5 1/2 x 14 inches)
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ cup raw unsalted hazelnuts, divided
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp praline hazelnut extract (optional)
- 3 tbsp whole milk
- ½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
Instructions
Make, Cut and Chill the Dough
- In your food processor, measure the flour, powdered sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts. Pulse several times until well combined and the hazelnuts are finely chopped and dispersed throughout the mixture.
- With the processor running, drop the butter down the chute, a tablespoon at a time, and process the mixture until moist and crumbly.
- Add the vanilla extract, hazelnut extract and milk, and process just until the dough comes together into a dough ball.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and gather any dry floury bits together, shaping the dough into a ball, and lightly dusting it with a little extra flour.
- Press the dough into an even layer in your tart pan, dusting the top with a little more flour, if it's sticking to your hands.
- Use a toothpick, skewer or cake tester to prick the dough all over – this is called "docking the dough", and helps prevent it from puffing up as it bakes.
- Using a sharp, non-serrated knife, cut the dough in half, lengthwise down the middle of the pan. Now cut it horizontally into 12ths, so you have a total of 24 cookies. Dip the knife in flour as needed, to keep it from sticking to the dough. Cutting the dough in the pan before baking makes it much easier to cut without breaking it after it comes out of the oven.
- Refrigerate the shortbread for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 300 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the chilled shortbread for about 40 minutes, until the top looks golden brown and baked through.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately cut the shortbread again, following the same lines. Cool completely in the pan before removing the sides of the pan.
- Store the baked shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
- For serving the cookies, use a small offset spatula to swirl some chocolate hazelnut spread on top of the cookies. Finely chop the remaining 1/4 cup hazelnuts, and sprinkle on top.
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