Cocoa and nougat – the perfect combination!
At Christmas time we are always in cookie fever! We can’t bake enough different vegan cookies. If you feel the same way, here are our nougat angel eyes, which, in contrast to the classic version, are filled with nougat instead of jam and have a chocolatey dough.
You don’t need a special egg substitute for this vegan recipe and even if you want to go faster when baking, the recipe is perfect for you because the cookies don’t have to be cut out.
This is how vegan nougat angel eyes are prepared
First you mix all the dry ingredients for the vegan nougat angel eyes in a bowl. When I use ground hazelnuts in a recipe, I prefer to buy the roasted version. It makes cakes and biscuits even more aromatic.
Now the cold butter can be added in pieces. First you rub the butter with the flour mixture with your fingers until crumbly, then everything is briefly kneaded to form a smooth dough. The finished dough is now in the fridge for at least an hour. So that the vegan nougat angel eyes can be portioned more easily later, I roll the dough into a roll and cool it in an airtight container.
After the cooling time has expired, cut the dough roll into 40 small pieces. Each individual piece is rolled into a ball with your hands and placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat.
To form the well into which the nougat will later be placed, I use the end of a wooden spoon and carefully press a well into each ball of dough. Now put the angel eyes in the preheated oven at 180°C for about 8 minutes.
After baking, the angel eyes have to cool down completely before they are filled with nougat. To fill, carefully heat the nougat over a water bath. The best way to fill the liquid nougat mass into the biscuits is to use a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag ready, you can also use a teaspoon to fill the vegan nougat angel eyes.
Why nougat is often not vegan
Basically, dark nougat is a hazelnut mass consisting of roasted hazelnuts, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass and an emulsifier. Nougat can be bought in many supermarkets, although the composition differs. Many varieties contain milk powder, which means that the nougat is no longer vegan.
If I plan a recipe with nougat, I get it a little in advance. So I can also order it online if I can’t find a vegan version in the supermarket.
If you still have some nougat left, feel free to try our recipe for vegan nougat cookies!
Vegan nougat angel eyes
Ingredients
- 150 g flour
- 60 g ground hazelnuts
- 20 g cocoa powder
- 40 g sugar
- 8 g vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 130 g vegan butter
- 100 g nougat
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the flour with all the ingredients except the butter.
- Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. First rub the dough with your hands until it is crumbly, then quickly knead everything into a smooth dough. Knead just until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Form the dough into a roll and place in the fridge, airtight, for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C top/bottom heat and line a baking tray with baking paper or a baking mat.
- Using a knife, cut the cold dough roll into 35-40 pieces, shape each piece into a ball and place on the baking sheet, a few centimeters apart.
- Before baking, make small indentations in each ball with the end of the handle of a wooden spoon. Since the dough is still cold, it will tear if you make the indentations too quickly. It is therefore better to work slowly and carefully.
- Bake the angel eyes in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.
- Immediately after baking, you can carefully rework the indentations with a wooden spoon and then let the angel eyes cool down completely.
- Cut the nougat into small pieces and slowly melt over a water bath. When it is liquid, fill it into a piping nozzle, pour it evenly into the indentations of the angel's eyes and leave to cool.
