These gluten-free, vegan Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Teff Cookies are a healthier, nutrient-dense treat with that irresistible Nutella-like flavor.
Over the past year, teff has become one of my favorite flours to experiment with. Its tiny grains give baked goods a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth texture that feels unique and satisfying.
Slightly nutty and naturally wholesome, teff is versatile and pairs beautifully with chocolate, as it does in these cookies.
With the holiday baking season underway, I wanted a cookie that felt festive but still leaned on nutritious ingredients. Teff was the obvious choice—this tiny grain packs a surprising nutritional punch and gives the cookies a lovely texture.
Hazelnuts and chocolate are the perfect companions for teff. I often make teff almond butter cookies, and adapting that concept with roasted hazelnut butter, maple syrup, and a chocolate dip gave these cookies a more indulgent, seasonal twist.
To make these, I roast hazelnuts and turn most of them into a creamy hazelnut butter, then mix that with teff flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla. After baking, I dip each cookie halfway in melted dairy-free chocolate and sprinkle chopped hazelnuts on top for crunch and extra flavor.
A quick thank you to Gabriel at The Dinner Special for having me on the podcast this week — it was fun to share the story behind becoming gluten-free and the blog.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Teff Cookies (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups raw hazelnuts
- 1½ cups teff flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Reserve ¼ cup of the hazelnuts for topping. Spread the remaining 2 cups on the baking sheet and roast for 10–15 minutes. While still warm, place the hazelnuts in a clean dish towel and rub to remove as much skin as possible. Transfer the nuts to a food processor and process, scraping the bowl as needed, until smooth and creamy, about 4–5 minutes—this should yield about 1 cup of hazelnut butter.
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Lower the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a medium bowl, whisk together teff flour and salt. Add 1 cup hazelnut butter, maple syrup, cooled melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir until thoroughly combined.
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Scoop small portions of dough and roll into balls, placing them on the prepared sheet. If the dough is very loose due to oil content, add 1–2 tablespoons more teff flour. Flatten each ball about halfway with a fork.
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Bake for 10–11 minutes—avoid overbaking to keep the cookies tender. Let them rest on the baking sheet a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Chop the reserved ¼ cup hazelnuts. Melt the chocolate chips in 30-second microwave intervals, stirring between each until smooth. Dip half of each cooled cookie into the melted chocolate, place on parchment, and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Allow the chocolate to set before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
