These adorable hedgehog cookies are made from soft almond flour cookies, melted chocolate, and chopped almonds. Their little faces and spikes are just too cute! Best of all, the cookie dough doesn't need to be chilled, and these cookies stay soft for up to a week!
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Growing up in Germany, my sister and I would go searching for baby hedgehogs. In the fall, we'd find them munching on fallen apples in the orchard near our home.
These chocolate hedgehog cookies are a little homage to those woodland creatures of our childhood.
These adorable hedgehog cookies are especially popular around Christmas. For more delicious Weihnachtsgebäck (German Christmas cookies) try Lebkuchen Herzen, iced Pfeffernüsse, and vanilla crescent cookies.
My cousin and one of my best friends both had pet hedgehogs, and they're probably the cutest pets ever! I had hamsters growing up, but there's just something so adorably charming about hedgehogs.
The little spikes from finely chopped almonds and the itty bitty faces made with melted chocolate just melt my heart!
I tried to capture the sheer cuteness of hedgehogs in these almond and chocolate hedgehog cookies. How did I do? 🙂
Ingredients and Notes
- All purpose flour
- Almond flour - You can use either blanched almond flour or regular almond flour. If you use blanched almond flour, your cookies will have a lighter color and a slightly less noticeable almond flavor.
- Cornstarch - Similar to Butterkekse and Spritzgebäck, I add cornstarch to help the cookies spread less in the oven, so they maintain the rounded shape of the hedgehog body.
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt - Use table salt or fine sea salt, not kosher salt.
- Unsalted butter - Allow your butter to soften so it incorporates easily into the dough.
- Granulated sugar
- Egg - Allow your egg to sit out to come to room temperature so it incorporates easily into the dough.
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate - I prefer melting a semisweet baking chocolate bar, but you can also melt chocolate chips or chocolate wafers.
- Chopped almonds - You can substitute other nuts with a dark exterior and light interior pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts.
How to Make this Recipe
Below is the process to make this recipe. For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. In a bowl, whisk the flour, almond flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar.
3. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until it's creamy and fluffy, after another minute.
5. Gently press the cookie dough into round balls.
7. Use your index finger to press down above the nose to flatten the face.
9. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F. Cool completely.
11. Brush the bodies of the cookies with melted chocolate. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until it forms a crumbly dough.
6. Press one end to a rounded point for the nose.
8. Place the shaped cookies on a baking sheets spread out at least 2 inches apart.
10. Melt the chocolate on the stove or in the microwave.
12. Dip a toothpick into the remaining melted chocolate. Dot the two eyes and nose on each hedgehog's face.
Carissa's Kitchen Tip
Shaping the dough into the hedgehogs usually takes me around 30 minutes. The shape is critical to pull off the cute aesthetic, so take your time!
However, if you notice that your butter becomes soft and melty in the dough, pop your unbaked cookies into the fridge for about 15 minutes.
This will help them maintain their shape during baking.
Recipe Tips
- Mixing: The dough will seem kind of dry at first, but just keep slowly mixing it together until it holds its shape when you squeeze some in the palm of your hand.
- Shaping: Gently press the dough into small round tear-drop shapes to get the right body shape for your hedgehogs.
- Decorating: The placement of the eyes makes all the difference in how cute your baby hedgehog cookies turn out. I found that placing them slightly closer together amps up the cuteness level.
Variations
- Sliced Almonds: You can use sliced almonds to make hedgehog spikes, but I found my cookies looked more like mice or porcupines that way.
- Other Toppings: Instead of chopped nuts, you can use shredded coconut or chocolate sprinkles for the spikes.
- Extract: Instead of vanilla extract, you can substitute almond extract to increase the nutty flavor of these cookies even more.
Storage
- Room Temperature: Store your baby hedgehog cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Fridge: If your home is hot and humid, you may want to store your decorated cookies in the fridge in an airtight container. This will avoid the chocolate softening and melting.
Related Recipes
Looking for more delicious German cookie recipes like this? Try these:
Hedgehog Cookies with Chocolate and Almonds
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DECORATION
- 4 ounces semisweet baking chocolate (or ½ cup chocolate chips)
- ½ cup chopped almonds (or substitute other nuts like pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, almond flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until it's pale yellow and fluffy, after a few minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat again until it's creamy and fluffy, after another minute.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a large spoon until it forms a crumbly dough. (The dough will be kind of dry at first. Keep mixing until it holds its shape when you squeeze it in your hand.)
- Shape the cookie dough into round tear-drop shapes for the hedgehog bodies.To make the shapes, gently press the dough into a ball. Place it on the baking sheet to flatten the bottom, then use your fingers to press one end to a rounded point for the nose. Use your index finger to press down above the nose to flatten the face. Place the shaped cookies on the prepared baking sheets spread out at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are dark golden on the very bottom edges. Don't try to remove them from the baking sheet right away, since they'll still be soft. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to a cool rack to finish cooling fully.
- Once the cookies are cool, melt the chocolate either on the stove with a double boiler or in the microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring after each interval.Use the back of a spoon or a pastry brush to brush the bodies of the hedgehog cookies with the melted chocolate. (Don't brush chocolate on what will be their faces, at the front tip.)Sprinkle the chopped nuts onto the melted chocolate to make the hedgehog spikes.Dip a toothpick into the remaining melted chocolate to dot on the two eyes and nose on each hedgehog's face.
- Allow the chocolate to cool and harden on the cookies (this usually takes mine around 2 hours), then enjoy!!
Notes
- Decorating: The placement of the eyes makes all the difference in how cute your baby hedgehog cookies turn out. Play around with yours until you get it just right. I found that placing them slightly closer together amps up the cuteness level.
- Sliced Almonds: You can use sliced almonds to make hedgehog spikes, but I found my cookies looked more like mice or porcupines that way.
- Other Toppings: Instead of chopped nuts, you can use shredded coconut or chocolate sprinkles for the spikes.
- Storing: Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. If you live in a hot or humid region, store them in the fridge to avoid the chocolate from softening and melting.
Shanon
Soo cute!!
Lina
These are sooo cute! love it!