Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints

These cookies may be the worst on the planet I am a master chef and these cookies were so bad my dog threw up after digging them up in the trash yes that’s right the trash. Honestly whoever made this recipe should jump off a bridge im not saying you should kill your self but you should definetally do something. Peace #KeepYourselfSafe

I held out very little hope for these when the "dough" that formed after mixing the wet and dry ingredients was basically slightly pebbly dust. But with a lot of kneading, I was able to form the balls and get them on the cookie sheets. Baking time was 15 minutes in my oven. Next time I will mix some of the chopped hazelnuts into the dough and sprinkle more on the Nutella topping. Rolling those very dry cookie balls in the hazelnuts tended to make the dough flake and crumble. The cookies are very tasty (I didn't use the espresso - may do that next time too) and surprisingly moist considering how dry the dough was.

My daughter and I have been eyeing this recipe for years, and this past Christmas, we finally got it together to make them. We followed the recipe to the letter (measured the flour and everything), and they were just not good at all. Dry, crumbly, not very chocolate-y, and a weird flavor. Even my husband--who will eat anything--pronounced them inedible, and after repeated tastings, we finally threw the whole batch in the trash. I'll take Fudgy Mocha Brownies over these any day.

You have to differentiate between volume and liquid measures. A weight of 4.5 ounces of flour is approximately a one cup volume. I agree the recipe is not clear on this. They should have used one or the other measure, not both in this case to avoid confusion.

I think they mean 4.5 oz. dry weight, not 4.5 ounces liquid volume as with a measuring cup.  According to King Arthur Flour, a cup of all-purpose flour weighs 4 1/4 ounces or 120 grams. 

I made several batches of these last year. They were that good! Another alternative to putting a dalup on top is to stack to cookies together with the nutella filling. Equally as YUMMY!

The recipe calls for 4.5oz "about a cup". 4.5oz is nowhere near a cup. I followed the latter part of the instruction and ruined the recipe.

The cookie part is a bit dry and slightly chalky, but the nutella and nuts provide good flavor. Was a fun recipe to make with kids.

Not sure what I did wrong. Usually all my stuff turns out great. I did use land o' lakes light butter. Maybe the increased water in the light butter was to blame, but the dough was way too sticky/runny to knead. I had to pour it into a 8x8 pan and make cookie bars. Taste is good, but not sure what went wrong???

Since the nuts wouldn't stick, I incorporated them into the dough, which worked well, and looked fine. I finished putting the Nutella in the thumbprints, and ate one. It tasted really good, but I do wish that something could have been added to the Nutella so that it would have become more of a fudge-like consistency for stacking. I make a lot of cookies ahead of Christmas, as I have time, and give them as gifts to those who come to our Christmas Eve party. I have these in the refrigerator now, hoping that they will get cold enough so that I can carefully layer them with parchment and stack them to store for Christmas. I think this is one big problem with these cookies for Christmas. I do want to say that I think folding the nuts into the dough really worked well, not only appearance wise, but also taste wise. I think it's a lot less work than coating with egg white. I gave four stars because of the nut problem that had to be solved, and the Nutella remaining soft. I tripled the recipe

The base is not overly sweet, and the Nutella adds a sweeter note. A great combination. We used the espresso and really liked the added depth - it's a great "grown-up" version of traditional thumbprints. I chopped the nuts in my mini-food processor, which made a mix of finer pieces and slightly chunkier, leaving the cookies well coated. Used the left-over egg whites to help the nuts stick as others recommended. Important to make a deep thumbprint before baking; I used a small coffee spoon to re-impress after baking, but then the cookies stuck to the pan a bit more, so in the end, I just swirled a dab of nutella using a toothpick to make a pretty design, as others suggested. They tasted great, and everyone loved them.

These are good chocolate/nut cookies, BUT the center remains soft!? ... which is not good for packing in a cookie tin. Does anyone have suggestions on what to add to the Nutella to make it "set" better & still taste yummy? I ship cookies to my Mother & would like to send her a batch of these thumbprints.Thanks in advance for your advice.

I thought these cookies turned out quite well; they were a hit at the party I served them at, although small. I was only able to get 23 cookies from this batch. I could only find whole filberts, so I cut those up to coat with, and lightly toasted them stovetop. I may have used slightly more flour than needed because they seemed slightly dry, but still very tasty. I used others' suggestions to coat the sides with the egg whites to help the nuts stick. I used the back of my 1/4 tsp spoon to indent the cookie, before putting it into the oven, then after 5 minutes of baking. The nutella on top was truly the best part! Thanks for the recipe!

I just made these for Christmas, and they taste great! Thank you for all the suggestions in the reviews. I used the egg whites to help the nuts stick to the cookies as suggested. I also swirled the Nutella with a toothpick to make it look pretty. I used the end of a wooden spoon to make the indentations prior to and after baking.

super easy, small but flavorful. Make these babies for every get together, never any leftovers!

Yummy!! Definitely double the recipe as I barely got 24 cookies with ingredient quantity listed. Made these for cookie exchange and everyone enjoyed them!

I skipped the toasted hazelnuts, because my boyfriend doesn't like nuts. Either way, these cookies put a dent in my diet. I couldn't resist eating more than one! Very yummy! Will try with hazelnuts and esspreso next time :)

Our favorite new Christmas cookie recipe! Did not add the espresso, though. Great flavor and appearance!

I rarely rate recipes, but these cookies were fantastic! I made the dough the night before Christmas and wrapped it in plastic overnight. The next morning I let it warm up on the counter for about an hour, and it was still extremely hard. However, I kneaded it with my hands and it worked perfectly. I then rolled the dough into little balls before I rolled them in crushed hazelnuts. I think the warming effect of my hands really helped the nuts stick, since I had no trouble with the nut pieces falling off. As they came out of the oven, I used a wine bottle cork to re-thumbprint the cookie and it worked perfectly. These cookies look beautiful and are just as delicious!

I made these over the holidays and they were so easy and quite delicious. I did use the espresson powder since I have a big jar of it and it added a really nice flavor. I left off the nuts since my son won't eat them, but I am making again this weekend for a dinner at my sisters and I WILL use the nuts this time. Oh, and you do have to make the thumbprints pretty deep or they will dissappear after baking

excellent easy and delicious cookies. I made half without hazelnuts for the ones who are allergic to nuts and instead of Nutella I always have Israeli chocolate spread- or any other European nut free chocolate spread. They disappeared before we called everyone for dessert. Not too sweet, definitely will make again and again!

These were tasty. I had the same issue of the thumbprints vanishing, and the hazelnuts not sticking. I sued a teaspoon to re-print the cookies once they were out of the oven. If I make these again, I will chop the nuts really, really finely, since for me those were the only ones to stick. I didn't use the coffee powder, but they were still delicious. The nutella on the top made these outstanding.

These cookies were delicious and a big hit with my friends! I was slightly worried when I turned out the dough onto the wax paper and it seemed like all powder, but after kneading as stated, the dough came together nicely. I followed the recipe exactly, and they came out just like the picture. I would definitely make these again.

These were a nice change from regular thumbprints. I suggest dipping the rolled dough in the leftover egg whites and then rolling them in the hazelnuts. Also I baked for 5 minutes then put thumb indentation and cooked for the other 5 minutes. Delicious.

These are soooo good. There's something about the combination of the cookie base itself with the Nutella. These are excellent. (Although I wonder if I couldn't use just 1/4 tsp of the Nutella. the entire 1/2 tsp seemed like a little too much)

This recipe was delicious. No one could believe that it was a "light" recipe! It was very rich and tasty; also fairly easy to prepare. I did notice that the cookies become a little stale after about 3 days.

I made this recipe for a Christmas Party and it came out great! I used the coffee, and followed the recipe as written. I agree to make the thumbprint bigger when the cookies are right out of the oven. I froze the cookies at that point. On the day of the party, I softened the Nutella in the microwave, then used a ziplock as a pastry bag and piped it on the cookies. Then as suggested used a toothpick to swirl. They looked just like the picture. I will definitely make them again, and have shared the recipe. Thank you! Dee

Awesome cookies! Use your thumb/finger to make a deeper indentation as soon as the cookies come out of the oven and you'll have enough space for the nutella. Again...a new family favorite. Enjoy!

I love chocolate and hazelnuts and this recipe is great! Not too sweet and you can taste the chocolate. I mostened my hands with a little water to roll the cookies and that helped when i rolled them in the nuts. I had some almonds in the freezer so i used them instead of hazelnuts to coat the cookies and it tasted great. The only thing was that after baking it, the thumbprint is not as deep as in the picture but i still managed to smear some nutella.

These are delicious. The "dough" I turned out onto wax paper was more crumbs than dough, but it came together with kneading. I couldn't get the hazelnuts to stick to the sides very well, and the cookies spread enough in the oven to negate my fairly deep indentations. I just spread the Nutella on rather than filling, and then sprinkled on some extra hazelnuts for good measure. All of that sounds like more trouble than it was. These cookies really are very good.

These were so easy and are so delicious! There is no reason whatsoever to stray away from this recipe!