These cookies, along with einkorn olive oil skull cakes, burnt miso chestnut cake, raspberry-topped brownies and a bunch of other treats, will be part of my Valentine’s Popup at Golden Hour in Kingston! It will be a very cute morning (2/14, 10-2pm) with flower bouquets, beet hummus, and borscht, and all the other nice things you can get for your Valentine at the shop.
The following Saturday I’ll be popping up at the Current Cassis tasting room in Rhinebeck with more eat-in options along with Touchy Coffee.
While most shortbread is about using high quality butter, this recipe wants your freshest tastiest hazelnuts for it to really sing. I get mine from Sermoneta Orchards, which is about an hour from me, and keep them wrapped in the freezer until I’m ready for them. Toasting them just before using and then grinding them into flour to release their oils and aroma brings out their strongest nutty qualities.
These cookies were part of my Enchanted Forest Cookie Box — I rolled them in beet sugar and sprinkled each one with nettle salt for that. I still enjoy rolling them in sugar (see pic below), but for Valentine’s Day I’m dipping them in dark chocolate. Hazelnuts and chocolate are classic for a reason — the nutty earthy roasted flavors of each complement each other so well — and I think it’ll be hard for me to go back from this. This recipe also incorporates cacao butter in the dough, which I think adds a creaminess that coconut oil can’t achieve alone, and hints at chocolate as well.
If you want sparkly sides like the picture below, then instead of rolling the cookies out flat and cutting them into shapes, roll them into a log (since the dough is wet you might want to try rolling it into a log, let it begin to harden up in the fridge then take it out while still slightly soft to roll it again so it’s perfectly round). Then cover a piece of plastic wrap with sparkling sugar and roll the log in it until it’s completely covered. Wrap it up in the plastic with the remaining sugar and let it harden in the fridge. Then just use a sharp knife to slice the log into thick pieces, and sprinkle with salt before baking.
Come try them yourself at my popup next week or the one after — or if you live too far, make them yourself!
Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Shortbread (v, gf)
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