Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2025)

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Hazelnut shortbread cookies recipe - perfect for the Holidays! These Christmas cookies have a perfect texture - crumbly and buttery, they just melt in your mouth.

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (1)

This recipe is ridiculously easy: only 5 ingredients. The hazelnut cookies are phenomenal! You'd be thinking you're eating a very special cookie, and not something that you just whipped up in 20 minutes. Of course, in a large part, we have to thank hazelnuts for the deliciousness of this recipe - they really make these shortbread cookies so ... what's the word? ... hazelnutty. Dusted with powdered sugar they become perfection.

Your Christmas cookie tray is not complete without these hazelnut cookies. It is also not complete without pecan shortbread cookies, or amaretto shortbread cookies, or cranberry noels.

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2)

The cookies have the consistency of crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, with a distinctive hazelnut flavor. Perfect to serve as a little dessert alongside a cup of coffee, tea, or a glass of milk. It's a highly unassuming cookie, very easy to make - just make sure to chill the dough before baking, and you should be all set. Also, the cookie dough wrapped in plastic wrap can be kept frozen up to a month.

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (3)

4.70 from 96 votes

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe

These hazelnut shortbread cookies are perfect for your Christmas cookie box. The cookies have the consistency of crumbly, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread, with a distinctive hazelnut flavor.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 30 cookies

Calories per serving 63 kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Toast raw hazelnuts at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Cool the nuts to room temperature, then husk them by rubbing a handful of hazelnuts between your hands. This should do a pretty good job of getting rid of most of the skins. Some will remain – that’s OK.

  • To make finely ground nuts, place toasted and husked hazelnuts and ¼ cup sugar into food processor and process until finely ground.

  • Add ¾ cup and 2 tablespoons of flour and a pinch of salt to the food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and process until dough forms, scraping the sides of the food processor bowl with spatula if necessary. The dough will be soft.

  • On a flour-dusted surface, roll dough into 2 logs, each about 1 inch wide. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and place wrapped cookie dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, then in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

  • Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit.

  • After cookie dough has been in the freezer and in the refrigerator, unwrap plastic and slice each log into thin cookie slices.

  • Place cookie slices on a parchment-lined ungreased baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

  • Bake for about 12-15 minutes, don’t let the cookies get brown.

  • Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes, after that transfer cookies to wire rack to continue cooling. Using sifter, sprinkle cookies with powdered sugar.

  • Store cookies in airtight container – they can last about 2 weeks.

Notes

The recipe is adapted from Epicurious

Nutrition

Nutrition Information

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe

Amount per Serving

Calories

63

% Daily Value*

Fat

4

g

6

%

Cholesterol

8

mg

3

%

Potassium

16

mg

%

Carbohydrates

5

g

2

%

Sugar

2

g

2

%

Vitamin A

95

IU

2

%

Vitamin C

0.2

mg

%

Calcium

4

mg

%

Iron

0.3

mg

2

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition Disclaimer:

The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Keyword hazelnut cookies, holiday shortbread cookies, shortbread cookies

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (4)Larry

    “They can last for a week.”
    Are you kidding?
    In my house these last a day at the most.
    Thank you for the great recipe.

    Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (5)Julia

      Ha-ha-ha! Larry, you made me laugh really hard!

      Reply

  2. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (6)Martine

    These were easy to make and they were delicious.
    Merci beaucoup Julia

    Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (7)Julia

      Martine, so glad you loved these cookies! 🙂

      Reply

  3. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (8)Kat

    Hi, could I use spelt flour instead of all-purpose?

    Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (9)Julia

      Kat, yes you can - without changing quantities!

      Reply

      • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (10)Kat

        Great, thank you!

        Reply

        • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (11)Julia

          Enjoy!

          Reply

  4. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (12)Ian

    Made in Vitamix and froze dough for 20 minutes. Whipped these up for a late night craving. Super good. Will make again.

    Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (13)Julia

      Ian, I am so glad the recipe was success!

      Reply

      • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (14)Christie Hume

        Hi,
        I purchased hazelnut meal instead. Can this be used measuring 2oz of meal and no other adjustments? This recipe looks so yummy.

        Reply

        • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (15)Julia

          Christie, I think that should work!

          Reply

        • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (16)Desirae

          Hi! I also have a bunch of ground hazelnut meal. Did this work in the recipe?

          Reply

  5. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (17)Michelle

    These did not work for me. I've made a lot of shortbread and worked with tricky doughs, but this was a disaster. No matter how cold the dough was, it crumbled while cutting.

    Reply

  6. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (18)Trish

    Will love to make this recipe …
    I was wondering what’s the amount of butter in cups? Please HELP ME !

    Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (19)Julia

      4 oz of butter is 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons or 1 stick of butter. Hope this helps and enjoy the recipe, it's delicious!

      Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (20)Holly

      I made these and found out that one stick of butter is 4 ounces

      Reply

  7. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (21)Emily

    Hi! Could I use a blender instead of a food processor for this recipe? It looks delicious!

    Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (22)Amy T

      I used a blender. Didn’t work great bc it sticks in the bottom and hard to scrape up bc it’s a stiff dough. I ended up transferring it to finish in my stand mixer. lol. The food processor is the smartest fastest option.

      Reply

      • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (23)Julia

        Amy, great feedback! Thank you!

        Reply

        • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (24)Jan Scott

          Fantastic recipe, have made it lots of times, just keep logs in the freezer until ready to cook!

          Reply

          • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (25)Julia

            Jan, thank you so much for such a generous comment! Glad you've enjoyed this recipe! 🙂

  8. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (26)Nancy Raisanen

    One of the best shortbread I've ever made. Now in my recipe box.

    Reply

    • Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (27)Julia

      Hi all

      Anyone have any ideas as to why my biscuit Dough is hard to cut and the biscuit spreads a lot? I am using very chilled dough

      Reply

  9. Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (28)Jan Scott

    Hi, made these and they were so light and buttery and disappeared very quickly. I have a family member who can’t tolerate gluten, could I make using GF flour?

    Reply

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Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2025)

FAQs

What is the secret to making good shortbread cookies? ›

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies
  1. Choose High Quality Butter. No matter what brand of butter you buy, if it's real butter, you can rest assured that it's the best. ...
  2. Keep Ingredients Simple. ...
  3. Add Flavor. ...
  4. Don't Overwork. ...
  5. Shape Dough. ...
  6. Chill Before Baking. ...
  7. Bake Until Golden. ...
  8. Add Finishing Touches.

What is the mistake in making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

When making shortbread What must you not do? ›

Avoid making your shortbread too thick

This is much thicker than a roll-and-slice sugar cookie — or really any other popular type of cookie. If you keep your dough any thicker, you risk the dough coming out of the oven raw. If it's any thinner, the cookie will have a crispy texture with the snap of a graham cracker.

What is the difference between a butter cookie and shortbread cookie? ›

Due to differing ratios, shortbread cookies are crumblier and more "sandy" than butter cookies, which are firm and solid enough to be iced. This mostly has to do with flour and eggs. Shortbread doesn't use eggs, while butter cookies do, making butter cookie dough more pliable and robust than its shortbread counterpart.

What is the difference between Scottish shortbread and regular shortbread? ›

Traditional Scottish shortbread is a simple recipe made with sugar, butter, flour, and salt. Other shortbread styles will include leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda, which makes them crisp instead of crumbly like traditional Scottish shortbread.

What's the difference between Irish shortbread and Scottish shortbread? ›

Irish Shortbread Is Distinct From Scottish Shortbread

Irish shortbread not only sometimes changes up the butter-to-sugar ratio (possibly going with 2/3 a cup of sugar to 1 cup of butter), but also adds cornstarch in place of some of the flour present in the traditional recipe.

Should you chill shortbread dough before baking? ›

After shaping the cookies, don't rush to the oven! Instead, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so (overnight is OK, too). A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much.

Why poke holes in shortbread cookies? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

Should butter be cold for shortbread? ›

Should butter be cold or room temperature for making shortbread? Always start with cold butter straight from the refrigerator. This will keep the dough from warming up, making it greasy and difficult to roll out.

What happens if you don't chill shortbread dough? ›

Chilling the dough before baking will help the shortbread keep their shape while cooking. In the oven, the dough will spread as the butter in the mixture melts, but baking it from chilled helps reduce this effect. It's most important to do this if you are baking the shortbread in individual biscuits.

What are the disadvantages of shortbread? ›

Sugar provides a fast source of energy. There are rarely any artificial additives. Cons: Shortbread is a weight watcher's nightmare because it is extremely high in saturated fat and calories. Saturated fat is the 'bad' fat which is linked to artery-clogging high cholesterol and heart disease.

Should shortbread be crunchy or soft? ›

Shortbread should always have a tender, melting texture, but be slightly crisp when you bite into it. It should not generally be damp or wet underneath. A classic shortbread recipe will also only have flour, butter and sugar as the ingredients (in a 3:2:1 ratio) and not egg, which could lead to excess moisture.

Is salted or unsalted butter better for shortbread cookies? ›

If you don't have salted butter, unsalted butter will also work, simply add about ¼ teaspoon of salt to the cookie dough. The reason the salt is needed is because salt brings out the flavor in the cookies, without it, your cookies will taste bland.

Why use unsalted butter in shortbread? ›

Use unsalted butter for balanced flavour. Unsalted butter was traditionally used in baking because it was a superior product to salted - salt is used as a preservative so unsalted butter was thought to be fresher.

Are chessmen butter cookies shortbread? ›

To make a copycat version of Chessmen cookies at home, the recipe is a simple butter cookie cut out in a special shape. A butter cookie is slightly different from shortbread but with a higher ratio of sugar to butter. This allows a butter cookie to hold its shape rather than having a tendency to crumble.

Should you soften butter for shortbread cookies? ›

Many shortbread recipes start by having you cream softened butter with sugar, incorporating the dough with what former Serious Eats editor Stella Parks describes as “micro pockets of air.” Because air is a poor conductor of heat, “it helps insulate the dough from the hot baking sheet in the oven, slowing the rate at ...

Why chill shortbread dough before baking? ›

And once you have cut out or shaped your dough make sure you chill it for at least 30 minutes before baking so that the butter can re-solidify before reaching the heat of the oven.

What happens if you add too much butter to shortbread cookies? ›

Butter is an emulsifier and it makes cookies tender. It also adds in the crispy-around-the-edges element. Adding too much butter can cause the cookies to be flat and greasy. Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly.

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