Receta The Last Indulgence: Chocolate Dipped Hazelnut Cookies.
Finally I'm looking at the holidays in the rear view mirror. I'm also looking at other stuff in the rear view mirror and it's time for some serious treat cutbacks. As the Monty Pythons used to say:
"And Now For Something Completely Different!"
But before we go all veg and vegan on ourselves once again, one final thing I could not resist.
Hazelnut cookies to be precise, and to be even more honest, I was planning on getting this recipe up well before the 1st, but.... New Years Eve, Parties, More Parties. You get the drift. So, better late than never as I always say. In the meantime, between first baking these cookies and then baking them again, my friend Anne at Cocoaplanet suggested that I might drizzle my macaroons with melted Cocoaplanet chocolate. Which I did and they were freaking amazing. So if drizzled chocolate is good on macaroons how would it be on something else? Duh. Before I knew it I was melting and dipping like mad, and this is what comes of going down that path. The recipe comes from the famous French confectionary A la mere de famille, the dipping part comes from Anne's influence, and since she's French...she has to be right.
Chocolate Dipped Hazelnut Cookies
Here's What You Need:
- 1/2 cup plus 3 Tbs softened melted butter
- 1 1/3 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 eggs (room temperature)
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/4 cups of chopped hazelnuts
- 3 oz of semi sweet dark chocolate (I used Cocoaplanet deep dark truffle)
Here's What To Do:
In a large mixing bowl add together the flour...
...and Baking powder, set the mixture aside.
Chop the hazelnuts roughly in a food processor or by hand then set them aside.
In a large bowl or a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter.
Mix it together until it's pale and fluffy, then add in the eggs.
Add them in one at a time until each is well blended.
Add in the flour baking powder mixture.
When that's well mixed, fold in the hazelnuts by hand.
Roll the cookie dough into a fat roll, and wrap it in waxed paper.
Shove it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
If you are planning on baking these cookies right away (hey why not?) preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Set your oven racks to the upper and lower middle position in the oven.
When the dough has firmed in the fridge take it out and flatten the roll.
You want to get a long rectangle about 2 inches thick.
Use a sharp knife and cut the cookies into rectangles.
Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mats and pop them in to bake.
Bake them for about 12 minutes, or until golden.
Take them out of the oven and cool them on a cookie rack.
So, this is what I thought I had.....
Then came Anne's suggestion. So here's how to do the chocolate dipping.
Melt your chocolate either in a Pyrex bowl sitting in a heated pan of water on the stove, or quick and dirty, a few seconds (30 perhaps) in the microwave.
When the chocolate is all melty and soft, use a pastry brush and apply it to the cookies.
Let the chocolate dry.
Then, if you can wait that long, enjoy!
So, I must confess I started brushing almost the entire batch of cookies I'd made, they were that good. Hazelnut cookies are not super sweet, in fact they have a nice nutty flavor that's enhanced by the addition of chocolate. Think Nutella.
Now, for something completely different, back to the wonderful world of Indian food and finally idili, where I take my new idili maker for a spin. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori