The Best Ever Chocolate Chip and Hazelnut Cookies

Butter, sugar, brown sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla...
A typical chocolate chip cookie at its core, but aside from the hazelnuts what makes these cookies special are the added oatmeal and toffee bits. Oatmeal you say? Why yes, and no, it's not oatmeal raisin cookie dough - raisins + chocolate chips. A small amount of oatmeal is pulverized in a food processor, or in my case a coffee grinder that I usually use to grind spices, and incorporated into the dry ingredients.

We've all had chocolate chip cookies before, tollhouse, mom's or grandma's homemade, but I've never had a chocolate chip cookie so deliciously crispy on the outside and so chewy and flavorful in the center. My educated guess is the fibrous oatmeal adds a structural element that changes the way the dough handles the heat from the oven. Furthermore, the toffee bits have virtually disintegrated from the finished cookie, which means the heat has melted them completely into the essence of the cookie. You can taste the toffee in the cookie as sort of an ambient flavor that tempers the sweetness of the sugars and chocolate chips.

lightly roasted hazelnuts - oh the smell from the oven!

hazelnuts cooled, remove peels by rubbing between your hands

butter and sugars to be creamed. Eggs, vanilla come next followed by the powdery mix of dry ingredients.

chopped hazelnuts, toffee bits, and chocolate chips get mixed into the cookie dough.

bake at 325 for about 15

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies Recipe 

Giada's Family Dinners

2 1/4 C AP flour
1/2 C old fashion oatmeal (not quick oats) ground in food processor
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 C (2 sticks) butter, room temp
1 C light brown sugar
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

4 oz English toffee candy, finely chopped
1 C hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped
1 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Toast shelled hazelnuts on heavy baking sheet for 5-10 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Stir and rotate them every minute or so to ensure even toasting and prevent burning. After they have cooled, peel them by rubbing a few at a time between your palms. Small bits of remaining peel are okay. Break hazelnuts into small to medium pieces by putting them in a ziploc bag and lightly smashing with a meat tenderizer, rolling pin, or other blunt instrument that might be fun.

Preheat oven 325, line heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.

Finely chopped oats in food processor. Transfer oats to medium bowl. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In mixer cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture a little bit at a time and mix until blended. Stir in toffee pieces, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips.

Drop dough onto baking sheet using a rounded tablespoon. Space about an inch apart. Do not flatten. Bake until cookies are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet about 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.