Chocolate Covered Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies Recipes

CHOCOLATE DIPPED HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts on baking sheet. Bake until they're a shade darker and fragrant, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• Lower oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts in blender or food processor and pulse to coarse bits; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt to blend; set aside.
• Beat butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Beat in egg. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add the chopped hazelnuts and mix until distributed evenly throughout.
• Form into long cookies and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks.
• In a saucepan over lowest heat or in a double boiler, melt chocolate. Dip 1 end of cooled cookies into melted chocolate. Place back on cookie sheet to harden.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Chop the hazelnuts and the chocolate and set aside. I use the toasted hazelnuts from Trader Joe's. If you are using raw hazelnuts, toast the nuts at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.
• Place the butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and add all the flour at once. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix until all the flour is just combined. The dough will be crumbly at this point. Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix until the dough has completely come together. Add the hazelnuts and the chopped chocolate and mix on low speed until they are well combined into the dough.
• Turn the cookie dough out onto a lightly floured surface. You can turn it out onto a large piece of parchment paper or Silpat. Use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangle and lightly flour the top of the dough. Do not use too much flour, just enough to keep the rolling pin from sticking.
• Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Place the cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet about 1-inch apart. Prick each cookie in the center with a fork. Pricking the cookies will ensure they bake in the center.
• Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Chilling the dough will help the cookies hold their shape when baking.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Sprinkle each cookie with flaky sea salt. Bake the cookies for 25-30 minutes. The bottom of the cookies will be lightly golden brown.
• Take the cookies out of the oven and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cookie rack to completely cool.
• The cookies can be stored in a container for about 1 week.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl whisk together flour and salt. Start with 2 ¼ cups of flour, once the dough is combined if needed add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
• In a the mixing bowl cream the butter, then slowly add sugar and vanilla and beat, slowly add the whisked flour and continue to beat, stir in the ground hazelnuts. Refrigerate for approximately 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 325F (160C). Line 1-2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and form into golf ball size balls, place on the prepared cookie sheets, lightly flatten (not too thin) with the bottom of a glass (lightly floured so dough doesn't stick)**.
• Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, then move to wire racks to cool completely before dipping or drizzling with melted chocolate.
• Melt the chocolate either bain marie or with the microwave, either dip half of the cookie or spread half of cookie with chocolate (I spread the top half of the cookie), or drizzle with the chocolate if you prefer, sprinkle the ground hazelnuts on top of the chocolate. If you prefer plain then you could also sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!
• **Make balls a little larger and flatten to a thicker size, if you want thicker cookies.

CHOCOLATE COVERED HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• To make finely ground nuts, place husked toasted hazelnuts into food processor and process until finely ground. See my note below the recipe about how to husk hazelnuts once they are toasted (between your two hands - it's very easy and effective)
• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy, then add 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts and vanilla and beat to combine. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt, then add mixed flour and salt to the creamy butter-sugar mixture. Do not overmix, mix just enough to combine all ingredients and form a cookie batter.
• Shape dough into 4 logs of different thickness (to make cookies of different radius - large and small). Wrap each log in plastic wrap and put wrapped cookie dough in the freezer for 30 minutes, then in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 F. After cookie dough has been in the freezer and refrigerator, unwrap plastic and slice each log into thin cookie slices. Place cookie slices on ungreased baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake for about 20 minutes, don't let the cookies to get brown. After 20 minutes of baking, transfer cookies to rack to cool.
• To decorate cookies, melt chocolate in a small skillet over medium heat, just until chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Using spatula, brush half of the cookie on one side only (no chocolate on the bottom of the cookie) and along the cookie side. Transfer to rack to dry. Do that with each cookie (if desired). Then you can dip the chocolate side of the cookie into coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Return to rack. You can leave some cookies just covered with chocolate, without hazelnuts crumbs. You can also leave some cookies just plain (no chocolate, no hazelnuts on top of chocolate). Repeat with remaining cookies. Let cookies dry on rack for at least 1 hour, for chocolate to harden.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts on baking sheet. Bake until they're a shade darker and fragrant, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• Lower oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts in blender or food processor and pulse to coarse bits; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt to blend; set aside.
• Beat butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add the chopped hazelnuts and mix until distributed evenly throughout.
• Form into approximately 1-inch by 2-inch long cookies and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks.
• In a saucepan over lowest heat or in a double boiler, melt chocolate. Dip 1 end of cooled cookies into melted chocolate. Place back on cookie sheet to harden.
• Serves: 12; Calories: 242; Total Fat:17 grams; Saturated Fat: 7 grams; Protein: 4 grams; Total carbohydrates: 21 grams; Sugar: 12 grams; Fiber: 2 grams; Cholesterol: 38 milligrams; Sodium: 124 milligrams

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD WEDGES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. and butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. In a food processor grind fine the hazelnuts with the flour and the sugar, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it is combined well. Press half the dough evenly onto the bottom of each of the pans, cut through each round of dough with a small knife to score 16 wedges, and bake the shortbread in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until it is pale golden. While the shortbread is still warm, cut through the rounds again and let them cool in the pans on a rack. Choose 2 plates slightly smaller than the pans, put a plate directly on the surface of the shortbread, and invert the shortbread carefully onto it.
• In a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water melt the chocolate with the shortening, stirring until the mixture is smooth, and transfer the mixture to a deep narrow cup or glass measure. Dip the points of the shortbread wedges into the chocolate mixture, coating them halfway and letting any excess drip off. Transfer the shortbread wedges as they are dipped to rack set over a sheet of wax paper and let them stand until the chocolate is set.