These Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies combine deep chocolate flavor with bright orange zest and crunchy hazelnuts. The chocolate is rich without being heavy, while the citrus keeps the cookies from feeling flat or overly sweet. Chopped hazelnuts add just the right amount of texture, making these cookies feel a little special without being fussy. If you enjoy chocolate desserts with a hint of citrus, this is a cookie worth baking.
A Quick Look: Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies
📇 Recipe Name: Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies
⏱️ Ready In: about 1 hour and 20 minutes (including chill)
🍪 Yield: 30 cookies
🏾 Texture: crispy outside and soft on the inside
🍋 Flavor Profile: rich chocolate, fresh orange, and subtle hazelnut notes
🙋♀️Get to Know This Cookie
Use the buttons below to get a quick overview or ask questions before you bake.
You will love these cookies for their balance of flavor and texture. The chocolate comes through, the orange adds a fresh lift, and the hazelnuts bring a crunch to every bite. These cookies are not overly sweet, making them perfect an after lunch or after dinner treat.
If you enjoy baking with hazelnuts, you might also like my Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies with Espresso these Apricot with Orange and Hazelnut Cookies, both of which highlight that same rich, nutty flavor.
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Ingredients
- Orange zest
Zest adds real orange flavor without extra liquid. It keeps the citrus bright and clean instead of tasting artificial. - Hazelnuts
Hazelnuts add a mild, nutty crunch that pairs well with both chocolate and orange. If you are curious about their nutritional benefits, (Medical News Today) has a helpful article outlining several health benefits of hazelnuts. - Chocolate
I tested this recipe with Dutch-processed cocoa but found it too overpowering. The orange flavor was lost. For this reason, I recommend using a natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's, for better balance.
If you ever need help choosing cocoa, King Arthur Baking has a great reference article titled The A-B-C's of cocoa.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep
1. Weigh or measure the white and light brown sugars into a bowl and set it aside. Next, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa and run a whisk through to blend.
One large navel orange provides enough zest and juice for this recipe. If you only have smaller oranges, you may need two.
Mix
2. Add cubed butter to a mixer bowl.
3. Cream the butter on a medium mixer speed. Depending on how cold your butter still is it could take a couple of minutes.
4. Add both sugars to the creamed butter and mix for 3 minutes on a medium mixer speed.
5. Time to add the orange juice, orange zest, and the vanilla extract to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix until incorporated.
6. Scrape down the bowl, then add one egg and mix until incorporated. Scrape the bowl again, making sure to reach the bottom, before adding the second egg.
7. Mix for a good minute or two to make sure the eggs are fully mixed into cookie dough.
8. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture in thirds. Add the chopped hazelnuts last and mix just until combined. To avoid overmixing, finish folding the dough with a sturdy spatula to evenly distribute the hazelnuts.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Bake
🥣Baking Tip
Do not overbake. These cookies should look slightly soft in the center when they come out of the oven. Overbaking will result in a crisp cookie with less softness in the middle.
10. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line two cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the dough for evenly sized cookies.
11. Add 12 scoops to the prepared cookie sheet pan. For extra hazelnut flavor and crunch, press a few chopped hazelnuts onto the top of each dough mound, pressing lightly so they adhere during baking.
12. Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 11-13 minutes. Once out of the oven you can move the cookies to a cooling rack.
These cookies bake up with slightly crisp edges and a soft center, with a rich chocolate flavor and a subtle orange finish.
Enjoy!
🫙🍪Storage
Store these cookies in a sealed container. Chocolate cookies can dry out over time, so if needed, place a piece of bread inside the container to help restore moisture.
Be sure the bread does not touch the cookies, as direct contact can make them overly soft.
Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies FAQs
You can but the taste will be a little different. Extract, depending on how much you add, can taste a little artificial and overpower the chocolate taste.
Toasting is optional, I wanted a softer nut but still have some crunch for this cookie. But toasting will bring out more of the nut flavor and will be crunchier.
Here are a few nuts that go well with chocolate and orange; almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, and walnuts.
They spread moderately. Chilling the dough briefly before adding them to the oven can help keep a thicker cookie if desired.
❄️ Can I Freeze This Cookie?
I do not typically freeze cookie dough when testing my recipes, so the instructions above reflect how this cookie was baked and stored. If you'd like to explore general freezing options for this cookie, the AI tool below can provide additional information.
If chocolate is what you are craving for today, I have a whole category of cookies with chocolate. I am sure you can find a cookie that will entice you to grab your mixer and start baking.
Other Hazelnut Cookies
If you tried this Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it goes below. Thanks!
Recipe
Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies
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Ingredients
- 12 Tablespoons (168 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- ½ cup (99 g) Sugar white
- 1 cup (213 g) Light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (34 g) Orange juice fresh
- 2 Tablespoons (12 g) Orange zest
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) Vanilla Extract
- 2 Eggs
- 1 ¾ cup (218.75 g) All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (64.5 g) Unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1 g) Kosher Salt
- 1 cup (120 g) Hazelnuts plus more for topping
Instructions
- Zest one large orange into a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl juice the orange and set it aside. In a medium bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder, then whisk to combine. Set aside. Finally, weigh or measure the white and light brown sugars into another bowl and set aside.
- Add the cubed butter to the mixer bowl. Cream the butter on medium speed until you have soft peaks. Add both sugars and mix for three minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract, mixing until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs one at a time, blending for about one minute after each addition.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture about one third at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the chopped hazelnuts and mix until evenly distributed. Cover the dough and refrigerate for thirty minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line two cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Use a medium cookie scoop to add twelve mounds of dough onto a prepared sheet pan. Press a few chopped hazelnuts gently into the top of each mound so they stay in place while baking.
- Place the cookie sheet pan into the oven and bake for 11-13 minutes. Watch for the tops to just begin to crack, then remove the cookies from the oven. Let the cookies rest on the pan for one minute before transferring them to a cooling rack.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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