I’m on the home stretch, and finally getting to Day 10 of our 12 Days of Cookies project, where our little band of intrepid bakers are baking and blogging 12 cookie recipes of our individual choice from Bon Appétit’s 2008 Cookie-a-Day collection!
Hazelnut Shortbread Sticks
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup finely ground husked toasted hazelnuts (about 2 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped husked toasted hazelnuts
Preparation:
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Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.
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Shape dough by tablespoonfuls into 3-inch-long logs. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until light golden brown around edges, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool cookies completely.
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Stir milk chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Place 1/3 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts in small bowl. Dip 1 end of cookie into melted chocolate, then into coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Return to rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.
DO AHEAD Cookies can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
Notes:
Love this cookie! Crispy, tender, and light, and the milk chocolate with toasted chopped hazelnuts really set it off.
They’re also very quick to prepare and bake – just what the doctor ordered for that last-minute cookie emergency. And yes, there are cookie emergencies. Really.
I actually melted the chocolate in the microwave (50% power for about 90 second, stopping to stir every 15 seconds), which made for an even faster and less fussy/messy experience.
I would absolutely make these again, and so should you.
Please visit my partners in holiday baking, below, and see what they’ve got in store for you. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the eleventh installment!
Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes (honorary member and our founder but not participating this year)
Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen
Courtney of Coco Cooks
Di of Di’s Kitchen Notebook
Judy of No Fear Entertaining
Kelly of Sass & Veracity
Michelle of Big Black Dog
RJ of Flamingo Musings (hey! that’s me!)
Sandy of At the Baker’s Bench
Tiffany of The Nesting Project
Love these! They look so pretty!
Those look really great! Always good to have something for those cookie emergencies. We definitely have those around here sometimes. =)
Wow! Not only do they look great, but sounds like they hit the spot. I was wondering about these. Very nice!
They look so good….Like they have a little bit of everything…Chocolate, nuts – my two favs.