Gianduia Hearts Recipes

GIANDUIA HEARTS

Steps:

• Toast and skin hazelnuts. In a food processor pulse hazelnuts with sugar until finely ground. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together flour, hazelnut mixture, and a pinch salt until combined well. Cut butter into small pieces and at a low speed beat into flour mixture until mixture just forms a dough. Turn dough out onto a work surface and gather into a ball.
• Halve dough and roll out each half between sheets of wax paper into a 13-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Remove top sheet of wax paper from each round and with a 2-inch heart-shaped cutter cut out hearts, leaving all of dough on wax paper. (Do not remove any cut-outs from dough; keep hearts intact on wax paper. Replace top sheet of wax paper and stack dough on baking sheet. Chill dough until firm, at least 15 minutes, and up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 350° F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• With a metal spatula lift hearts from wax paper and arrange about 1 inch apart on lined baking sheets. Reroll scraps and make and chill more hearts in same manner.
• Bake hearts in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 12 minutes total. Transfer hearts to racks to cool completely. Cookies may be made up to this point 3 days ahead and kept in airtight containers at room temperature.
• Chop chocolates into small pieces and in a bowl combine with hazelnut butter. In a small saucepan bring cream to a simmer and immediately remove pan from heat. Stir hot cream into chocolate mixture until filling is smooth. Chill filling until slightly firm, about 15 minutes. On a work surface arrange half of hearts bottom sides up. Spread about 1 tablespoon filling on each, covering surface evenly, and top with remaining hearts, bottom sides down. Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container and chilled, 1 day.
• Or available for purchase from Dundee Orchards, P.O. Box 327, Dundee, OR 97115, (503) 538-8105

GIANDUIA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts out on small baking sheet or in an ovenproof skillet and toast them in the oven until they are a deep toasty brown, about 15 minutes. Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and set aside to cool completely.Melt the chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water over medium-low heat, stirring often.If serving the Gianduia immediately, place your bread in a 350 degrees F oven for 12 minutes.
• Grind the hazelnuts with the sugar in a food processor to a fairly smooth, buttery paste.
• Once the chocolate is completely melted, remove it from the heat and whisk in the cream and butter. Stir in the ground hazelnuts. The gianduia will thicken and become soft and peanut butter-like as it cools. Pour the mixture into small jars, or store in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
• Serve the gianduia with rustic slices of buttered toast.

GIANDUIA GELATO

Steps:

• Pulse hazelnuts with sugar and salt in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a heavy medium saucepan with milk and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let steep, covered, 20 minutes.
• Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then return to cleaned saucepan.
• Put 1/4 cup milk mixture in a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch. Return to saucepan, then boil over medium heat 2 minutes, whisking often (mixture will be thick). Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until melted and incorporated. Chill, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours.
• Freeze mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

GIANDUIA BROWNIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. and butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
• Toast and skin hazelnuts (procedure this page). In a food processor pulse hazelnuts until coarsely ground (bits should be about 1/8 inch).
• Chop chocolates into small pieces and in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolates with butter and Nutella, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat.
• While chocolates are melting, into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and a pinch salt. Whisk sugar into chocolate mixture until combined well. Add eggs, whisking until mixture is glossy and smooth. Stir in flour mixture and hazelnuts until just combined.
• Pour batter into baking pan and bake in middle of oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out with moist crumbs adhering to it. Cool brownies completely in pan on a rack and cut into 16 squares. Brownies keep, layered between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at cool room temperature, 5 days.

GIANDUIA CHOCOLATES

Steps:

• Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan and line with plastic wrap, allowing a 2-inch overhang.
• Toast and skin hazelnuts. In a food processor pulse hazelnuts until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Chop chocolates into 1/4-inch pieces, reserving 1 slightly mounded tablespoon bittersweet chocolate for tempering. In a double boiler or a metal pan set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt three fourths of chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and add remaining chocolate in 2 or 3 batches, stirring until smooth and allowing each batch to melt before adding next.
• When all of chocolate is melted, test its temperature: Put a dab of chocolate on the inside of your lower lip; it should be slightly cooler than your body temperature. If chocolate is too warm, add reserved chocolate, stirring until smooth.
• Stir hazelnuts and hazelnut butter into chocolate until combined well and spread mixture in pan. Chill confection, covered with plastic wrap, until firm, at least 2 hours. Lift confection out of pan and peel off plastic wrap. On a cutting board with a sharp large knife cut confection lengthwise into 1-inch strips and cut strips crosswise into 1-inch squares. Chocolates keep, covered and chilled, 1 month.