Hazelnut shortbread cookies: sugarfree, gluten-free, vegan recipe

The crust of my latest apricot-raspberry shortbread cake is actually based on my good old hazelnut shortbread cookie recipe so I decided to share this tasty bit, as well. These are very easy to make and also absolutely diet-friendly: sugarfree, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and also vegan. What I love the most about them is the texture: after a couple of tries these turned out to be crunchy like a biscuit, but still not too dry. A mid-day snack that I am looking forward to already in the morning.

Ingredients for approx. 40 pieces:
80g or 1/2 cup of hazelnuts
80g or 0.75 cup brown rice flour
80g or 0.5 cup+2 tablespoon buckwheat flour
80g or 0.5 cup corn flour
160g or 0.5 cup coconut oil or butter*
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon of steva powder or ther sweetener to taste (equivalent to approx. 100g of sugar)
1 large sized apple (approx. 200-300g)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
pinch of salt

* I prefer to mix 80g of coconut oil and 80g of butter for the best taste and texture.

1. Roast the hazelnuts at 150 C / 300 F in a convection oven for 15 minutes, while shaking the pan 3 times. Rub off their brown skin with a kitchen towel and grind them with a nut grinder.
2. Peel and dice the apple and steam it until soft. Add the vanilla extract, sweetener, coconut oil and blend until a smooth mixture forms.
3. Mix the dry ingredients: flour, ground hazlenut, salt, bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.
4. Now add the apple mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well until a ball of dough forms:

5. Set it aside to rest for 30 minutes. Line a pan with baking sheets and preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
6. Take a teaspoonful of the dough and roll it into a ball, then press it on the baking pan with a fork. Repeat until all the dough is gone.
7. Bake the cookies at 160 C / 320 F for 20-25 minutes, until light brown. (You can also bake a double portion in two pans in a convection oven.)

These turned out nicely crunchy cookies with a strong hazelnut flavor. The whole batch of these diet-friendly cookies contains approx. 100g carbohydrates, that makes 5g CH/piece. Enjoy!

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