Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

This recipe is a paid partnership with Vivani.

Nothing quite beats the flavour combination of chocolate and Hazelnuts, right?
These cookies are LOADED with gooey chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. If you love praline, then these are the cookies for you!

Chewy, gooey, rich and chocolatey, these cookies are a necessity! They’ve been a huge hit in my house and I’m sure yours too- haha!

This is a paid post with Vivani. For more information about product placement and partnerships, check out my Disclosure Policy).

To intensify the delicious praline flavour even further, I used Vivani ‘Dark Nougat’ chocolate. This might have to be one of my favourite chocolates! It tastes just how I remember Nutella to taste but in chocolate bar form. It’s delicious!

Vivani makes some of my favourite vegan chocolate. This Dark Nougat is a particular favourite, especially when it comes to baking. It melt’s like a dream and add’s a delicious nuttiness to the cookies.

Why I love this chocolate:

The perfect combination of sweet and nutty
Ultra creamy
It melts perfectly
Add’s an extra dimension to baking
Melts in your mouth
It’s suitable for vegans and is organic
Vivani’s packaging is plastic free which is amazing!

Buy the Dark Nougat Chocolate here. It’s also available on Amazon and The Vegan Kind.

Check out the whole Vivani vegan range here.

Imagine, biting into one of these cookies and you get hit with chewy chunks of hazelnut, then the rich chocolate hits you then BANG, a melty chocolate core. But not any melty chocolate core, a nougat flavoured core. Are you salivating yet, because I am- haha!

These cookies really capture the classic praline flavour, so if that’s what you like..grab the ingredients, get your apron on and whip up a batch, it’s that simple. Happy Baking friends.

Pick up these ingredients next time you pop to the shops:

Vivani Dark Nougat Chocolate
Hazelnut Butter (or any nut butter)
A tin of chickpeas in water or carton of aquafaba (see notes for details)
Caster sugar
Plain flour
Cocoa powder
Bicarbonate of Soda
Whole Hazelnuts
Sea salt

( NOTES* )

I’m a sucker for chocolate cookies, especially when they have a crinkle top and shine. In order to get that classic ‘brookie’ effect/look, you’ll want to use an egg replacer. My favorite egg replacer in cookies is aquafaba.

What is Aquafaba:

Aquafaba is the water from a can/tin of Chickpeas. The Chickpea water or brine as it’s called, acts as an amazing egg substitute for cakes, meringue buttercreams and these spectacular cookies. You can also get aquafaba in a carton for easy use. Check it out here.

If you want to go an extra step, you can roast the hazelnuts before use. This intensifies the flavour and makes the cookies chewier too.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Makes: Approx 8-10 cookies
Baking time: 12-14 minutes

Level: Easy

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Ingredients for the cookies

100g of Vivani Dark Nougat Chocolate
1 tablespoon of hazelnut butter / any nut butter
80ml of aquafaba (chickpea brine (See notes*)
120g of caster sugar
100g of plain flour
40g of cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

40g of hazelnuts (roughly chopped)
100g of Vivani Dark Nougat Chocolate (roughly chopped)
Pinch of sea salt (optional)

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Method (cookies)
1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c fan, and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. In a small saucepan, add in the chocolate and nut butter, over low heat, stir, melt together then set aside.

3. Pour the aquafaba into a large mixing bowl and whip up until frothy. This will take around 5 minutes on high speed if using a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment / electric hand whisk. I use a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. If you don’t have an electric whisk, a hand balloon whisk will work but will take alot more time.

4. Add in the sugar a little at a time whilst the mixer is still whipping. After around 5 minutes with the sugar incorporating, the mixture should turn thick and glossy. Pour in the melted chocolate and nut butter mixture and whip to incorporate.

5. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix until fully combined, then fold in the roughly chopped hazelnuts and 50g of roughly chopped chocolate.

This batter is quite wet so it’s best to use an ice cream scoop or spoon to form it into balls.

6. Scoop approximately 1-2 tablespoons of dough into balls, press a chunk of Vivani Dark Nougat Chocolate into the centre of each cookie dough ball then place onto the lined tray and press down with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly.
Repeat for all of the cookies.

TIP: Before baking, add a few more chocolate chunks and chopped hazelnuts on top.

7. Pop the cookies into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes.
Once baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. They will be soft at first, but as they cool down, they will set and crisp off.

Best enjoyed warm, the core will be lovely and melty- yum!

Serve with a sprinkling of sea salt (optional).

Store in a sealed container in / out of the fridge.
Best eaten within 3 days of making.