Every once in a while, you revisit an old recipe and remember why you loved it. That’s exactly what happened with these cookies when I baked them for our Passover Seder.
During Passover, it is customary to avoid flour and leavened grains to honor the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt without time for their bread to rise. This has led to a long tradition of flourless baking, often relying on nuts, eggs, and simple ingredients to create something that is both in line with tradition and truly delicious.
These hazelnut cookies are a perfect example. They’re naturally flourless (which makes them naturally gluten-free) and made with just five simple ingredients. They have that wonderful balance of a lightly crisp exterior with a soft, chewy center. The hazelnuts give them a rich, slightly sweet, nutty flavor.
Store them in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days—if they last that long!
Flourless Hazelnut Cookies
makes about 12 cookies
by Debbie Steinbock
Ingredients:
1 cup hazelnut flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
½ cup cane sugar
2 large egg whites
¼ tsp sea salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the hazelnut flour and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
4. Gently fold the egg whites into the hazelnut mixture. Add the vanilla extract and continue folding until just combined. Be careful not to overmix – you want to keep as much air in the batter as possible.
5. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie.
6. Bake for 10–12 minutes, then rotate the pan front to back and bake for another 10–12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden.
7. Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes, then gently loosen them from the parchment and transfer to cool completely.
