Nicole Noisette - Hazelnut pastries gluten-free

Nicole Noisette, gluten-free hazelnut biscuits from Belgium

Nicole Noisette by Generous are gluten-free hazelnut biscuits from Belgium: an airy macaroon-style pastry made from roasted hazelnuts, egg white, and cane sugar. Nutty, airy, and crunchy, completely free from flour and butter.

Nicole Noisette is a gluten-free hazelnut biscuit from Generous that requires no flour at all. Instead of a grain-based dough, 22% roasted hazelnuts meet egg white, cane sugar, and a little potato starch, with a hint of vanilla. The result is a light, macaroon-like biscuit that is crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Lots of nuts, little else

Nicole has a strong, roasted hazelnut flavor with hardly anything to distract from it: egg white and cane sugar hold the biscuit together, letting the nut take center stage.

With 22% hazelnuts, the nut is not just an addition, but the core. Nutty, airy, and crunchy—that is how a good hazelnut biscuit tastes when it consists of only a few ingredients. A fine crust breaks on the outside, while the inside remains tender, almost a little chewy, just as a proper macaroon should be. Roasting the hazelnuts provides that warm, slightly caramel note that a raw nut alone would lack. Unlike the buttery varieties, Nicole contains no butter and no buckwheat. If you prefer your nuts with chocolate, you can find them in the Charlotte Chocolat.

A macaroon biscuit without flour

For the Nicole Noisette, Generous whips egg whites, folds in roasted hazelnuts and cane sugar, and bakes them into light heaps.

Because there is no flour involved, Nicole is naturally gluten-free, with no need for substitute flours. The potato starch only provides a bit of structure; the rest is handled by the nut and egg white. Where other varieties have to replace wheat, Nicole does not need it in the first place, and that is evident. This results in a gluten-free hazelnut biscuit that is reminiscent of a fine macaroon while still having its own character. It joins our sweet biscuits like a nutty voice in a choir.

From a gluten-free bakery in Belgium

Christophe Harou founded Generous in 2013 after discovering he was gluten intolerant but refusing to go without good biscuits.

At the bakery in Tubize, the cookies are handmade using organic ingredients and Belgian patience. Together with his wife Théodora and Brussels-based bakers Jean-Benoît and Aurélie Ghenne, Christophe built the company, which has grown variety by variety since 2013. In Christophe's view, good taste does not need wheat. Each variety has its own name and character, and Nicole is the nutty, uncomplicated one among them that requires no flour at all.

With coffee and over chocolate dessert

The box contains 100 g, enough for coffee time or your pantry. These hazelnut heaps go particularly well with an espresso, a cappuccino, or a glass of dessert wine. Because they are baked without butter, they are among the lighter varieties in our range. Stored in a cool, dry place, they stay crunchy for a long time.

On their own with coffee, the hazelnut stands out; crumbled over a chocolate dessert, it really comes into its own. Nicole also cuts a fine figure on a winter cookie plate next to speculoos and chocolate. If you like oats and chocolate, take a look at the Martin Matin from the same producer.

Organic control number BE-BIO-01 – Non-EU/EU Agriculture