maple•spice: Dark Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies

♥ Well, you can never have too many cookie variations, right?? ♥

These are a simple twist on my last post of White Chocolate Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies. I was so impressed the the chocolate/citrus/nut combination I had to try a dark chocolate version. Orange and hazelnut became the obvious replacements here and this makes an outstanding cookie! I love the texture of these with the crunchy roasted hazelnuts and chocolate chips and the burst of orange flavour is simply lovely with them both.

Like the previous cookies you will get different results here depending on the brand of vegan butter. When I use Sunlite I get a softer fluffier cookie. When I use Vitalite I get a thinner, slightly more crisp cookie like my standard Chocolate Chip Cookie. Again, I couldn't pick a favourite, both ways are fantastic :-)

These took a little more prep than the White Chocolate Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies as I like to skin then roast the hazelnuts first using the method I used in the Chocolate Frangelico Mousse Gateau. This involves boiling the whole nuts in water and baking soda causing the skins to peel fully off easily. Then they are roasted and finally chopped. Although it's an added step it's very easy and definitely worth it.

♥

Dark Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies: makes 18

180g vegan butter (3/4 cup)

140g golden caster sugar (2/3 cups) or regular granulated sugar.

200g plain flour (1 1/2 cups - level)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp fine orange zest, I use a microplane grater.

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g dark chocolate chips or a chopped bar (2/3 cups)

80g chopped roasted skinned hazelnuts (2/3 cups)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a couple of baking sheets with baking paper.

First prep the hazelnuts. Bring 500ml of water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda to the boil in a large sided pot. Give it a good stir and add the hazelnuts with caution as it will really foam up here! I take the pot off the heat when I add them just to be safe. Boil for about 3 - 4 minutes, don't leave it as it will continue to foam up and stir it now and again. Drain the nuts and run under cold water, the skins should just slip off now and you can pop the remaining ones off with your hands. Pat them dry as best you can in either a clean dishtowel or paper towels and place on a baking sheet with sides, or roasting tin. Roast for 15 minutes giving the pan a shake every 5 minutes. Remove and transfer to a plate to cool enough that you can handle them. Now chop them as you like, I made mine fairly small, and measure out the required amount.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a large bowl beat together the vegan butter and sugar until light and well blended. Add the orange zest and vanilla extract and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until it just comes together. Add the chocolate and hazelnuts and stir until evenly mixed. Drop by a tablespoon onto the lined sheets a couple of inches apart, as these don't spread out a lot while baking don't pile them too high, you can even give them a little pat down. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.

Unlike the white chocolate lemon version of these which went beautifully with a cup tea you'll definitely want to get the coffee on for these ;-)