Hazelnut Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
I love to bake holiday cookies and as soon as I finish my Christmas decorating I will begin baking for this year’s holiday. Although I almost always bake some of the same cookies every year which have become family favorites over time, I like to try a few new recipes each year as well.
I am very fond of any type of shortbread cookie, and hazelnuts are another favorite so any cookie combining the two is a win in my mind. These cookies are tender, buttery, and are sandwiched together with a chocolate ganache.
Once the cookies are finished, I drizzled the top of the cookies with extra chocolate. My grandkids find regular shortbread cookies boring, but they loved this new cookie that included both hazelnuts and chocolate!
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele
Hazelnut Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
Tender shortbread cookies studded with hazelnuts and sandwiched between a creamy chocolate filling.
Ingredients
For The Cookies:
- 1 Cup, or 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter At Room Temperature
- 2/3 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 3/4 Cups All-purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Hazelnut Flour
For The Ganache:
- 1 1/2 Bittersweet Chocolate, Chopped
- 3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
For The Drizzle:
- 1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips (Optional)
Instructions
- Place the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl, and using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter mixture for 3 minutes on medium speed until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- Add the all-purpose and hazelnut flours, and mix just until mixture comes together.
- Dump mixture onto plastic wrap, and form into a 1/2 inch disc and refrigerate at least two hours. (The dough may be frozen for up to two months)
- Remove from the refrigerator and let sit 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle a clean counter lightly with flour, and roll dough out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch.
- Use a round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies, placing them on a parchment covered baking sheet.
- Place trays back into the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Bake the cookies for 25 minutes rotating pans halfway, or until just golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and using a spatula, carefully transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl.
- Heat the cream in a small pot over medium heat just until you see bubbles on the top.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit like this for a minute or two, then begin stirring until the chocolate has completely melted and the ganache is very smooth.
cool for an hour. - Use a pastry bag to pipe the ganache between in the center of one cookie, then place a second cookie on top, and gently press together.
- Continually to sandwich pairs of cookies together with the chocolate ganache, then cool completely.
- If using the chocolate drizzle, place the chocolate chips in a glass bowl and microwave until melted, stirring often until the chocolate is smooth.
- Use a fork to drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of each of the cookie sandwiches.
- Cool completely until chocolate is firm.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool place.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 39mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g