These chewy and sweet hazelnut macaroons, or Nussmakronen, are typical German cookies made with only 4 ingredients.
Macaroons are chewy cookies typically made with egg whites, sugar, and ground nuts or coconut, like these hazelnut Nussmakronen or the German Coconut Macaroons. Just be careful not to confuse them with macarons, the French almond meringue sandwich cookies.
I often have extra egg whites frozen because I usually need only yolks. Each December, I thaw them all to bake lots of macaroons. My husband loves them - he devours four times the recipe every winter without gaining a gram of weight.
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Recipe ingredients
You will only need four ingredients to make these traditional German macaroons: egg whites, sugar, ground hazelnuts, and some whole hazelnuts.
Egg whites: Fresh or leftover frozen ones. If you still have too many egg whites in your freezer bag, why not try some other egg white recipe, something like this Egg White Cake or the Stacked Pavlova with Raspberries?
Ground hazelnuts. Alternatively, you can use ground almonds (almond meal, not almond flour).
Whole hazelnut: You'll require an equal quantity of hazelnuts to match the number of macaroons you have.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make hazelnut macaroons?
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Slowly add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is glossy and stiff again.
Carefully fold in the ground hazelnuts.
Pipe about 24-26 macaroons on the baking sheets. Place a whole hazelnut in the center of each cookie.
- Bake the hazelnut macaroons for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they start to get golden around the edges. Leave to cool completely on the baking sheets.
Good to know!
You can easily adjust the recipe to match the number of egg whites you have - whether it's 1, 3, 4, or more. Just remember to change the other ingredients in the same ratio to keep the texture and sweetness right.
Freeze egg whites by placing them in a labeled freezer bag; usually, 2 or 3 whites fit in one bag since you don't often need more at once. A large egg white weighs about 1 oz/30 g. If unlabeled, use 2 oz/60 g for a German hazelnut macaroon recipe.
Storage
Because they have a lot of sugar, these cookies last a long time. They stay fresh and soft for about two weeks before getting a little dry and hard.
Keep them in airtight containers like cookie tins. This stops them from drying out or getting too wet and helps prevent mold.
More German cookies
Check out more delicious recipes for traditional German cookies.
Do you like this recipe?
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Chewy German Hazelnut Macaroons - Nussmakronen
Equipment
- Piping bag with large nozzle optional, Note 1
- 2 Baking sheets
Ingredients
- 3 egg whites large US (medium Germany)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1โ cups ground hazelnuts Notes 2,3
- 25 whole hazelnuts one hazelnut for each cookie
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 340ยฐF/ 170ยฐC. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is glossy and stiff again. Carefully fold in the ground hazelnuts. 3 egg whites + 1 cup granulated sugar + 1โ cups ground hazelnuts
- Fill the mixture into a piping bag with a very large nozzle. If you don't have one, leave the nozzle and use only the piping bag without the nozzle.
- Pipe about 24-26 macaroons on the baking sheets.
- Place a whole hazelnut in the center of each cookie and press it down gently.25 whole hazelnuts
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they start to get golden around the edges.
- Leave to cool completely, then keep airtight in cookie jars or cookie tins.
Notes
- Instead of a piping bag, you can use two teaspoons to make small heaps on the cookie sheets. They will not be so regular, but they will taste just as good.
- Measurements: Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it ensures the best results (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- Nuts: Alternatively, you can make the macaroons with ground almonds (almond meal). Not almond flour.
Ashley Jones says
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Deborah H says
I used fresh eggs, added sugar slowly, and gently folded in the hazelnuts. The cookies still spread out and were flat. What did I do wrong?
Claudia says
I just made them and they turned out crunchy so I checked on line and most recipes call for Confectioner's sugar instead of granulated sugar. I suspect this is the reason. The flavour is still good, but I prefer them chewy. Thanks
Adina says
Hi Claudia, thank you for the comment. I've never used confectioner's sugar to make the macaroons and they are always chewy. Maybe the oven temperature was too high? Ovens can be tricky sometimes.
Alicia says
I remember visiting my German great aunt and uncle when I was a young girl. At Christmas, she had the most amazing hazelnut cookies. I recently thought about them and I scoured the internet for the recipe. I wasn't finding the right recipe until I entered German Hazelnut Cookies and the picture and recipe popped up! I am so happy and can't wait to make them. I also love the fact that there's only 3 ingredients especially since I'm not a great baker. Thank you so I much for posting the recipe for these delicious cookies from my youth.
Adina says
I am so glad, Alicia. I do hope they are like the ones you remember.
rosita vargas says
Se ve muy delicioso te deseo Felices Fiestas y muchas bendiciones,abrazos.
mjskitchen says
Just went through some of the last posts that I missed and now my mouth is watering! What a great batch of sweetness. Love the hazelnut recipes. Now something I use much because hazelnuts are hard to find here, but I do love the flavor when I taste it, especially in baked goods. The macaroons look DElicious!!!
Hope you and your family have a wonderful Holiday Season! See you next year my friend!
Roland says
One of my favorite cookies. I love the moisture inside.
Balvinder says
These look delicious! I love how they are made with hazelnuts. Sounds like a perfect holiday dessert1
Happy Holidays!
Rosa says
Oh my! These sound delicious!! Will have to try them. ๐
I never thought about freezing leftover egg whites. Thanks for sharing your tip! I've tried freezing egg yolks and I wasn't too happy with the outcome. I leave them in the fridge but end up throwing them out after a couple of days. ๐
Have you ever tried making angel food cake? You need a special form for it, which can be found on Amazon for 15-20โฌ or so. It's a fat-free cake and is absolutely delicious with strawberries and cream. ๐
When I make cookies, I take pictures of the baking trays just before they go into the oven and right after they are baked. When I need to know how many I made, I just refer to the photos. ๐
I wish you and your family happy and safe holiday!!