i cannot say I love Nutella like the rest of the world. Due to it’s commercialized-like quality, i avoid it. I choose to avoid all processed sugars and artificial flavors and feel that I can conquer a taste, a flavor, or a craving by whipping up my own concoctions.
Gianduja is a type of hazelnut flavored chocolate from Switzerland. I think of this word everytime i wish for it.
So as I craved a cookie, I started grinding up some hazelnuts and before you knew it I had freshly baked cookies.
This was totally impulsive, but for you it can be planned which is just as good. Gather up your ingredients and have fun. Oh, and choose organic amap (as much as possible).
Ingredients:
1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely ground + 1/4 cup, chopped, set aside
1 3/4 cups spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
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1/2 cup coconut oil, liquid
6 tablespoons sucanat or rapadura sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure stevia powder
1/2 cup egg whites, room temperature
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/4 cup pureed prunes (*make ahead and store extra for baking and stirring into oatmeal: ratio of 1 1/3 cup prunes soaked in about a 1/3 cup of water until plump)
2 teaspoons hazelnut extract
1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
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Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Beat the oil and sugar until smooth, then add the remaining ingredients up to the hazelnut extract. Stir in the dry ingredients, the chopped hazelnuts and the chocolate chips.
Refrigerate for 1/2 hour –1 hour so that the batter is easier to work with.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
For each cookie, scoop about a spoonful of batter onto the baking sheet, shaping it into a ball and then flatten or keep round if you like it soft in the middle.
Bake 9-11 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 30 cookies.
*1/2 cup prune “butter” = 1 cup fat in recipes
Fit For the Kitchen 