Thursday, February 12, 2009

Chocolate Hazelnut Coins



Another chocolate hazelnut creation! Regular readers of my blog know that I love this combination, so I was happy to find this recipe. It’s a refrigerator cookie, which usually come together quickly. As much as I love to bake, I have to be realistic about how much time I have. Most week nights I don’t have all that much free time. These fit the bill because I could make the dough, do some other things while the dough chilled, and then bake them up.

The dough was nice and soft and came together easily. It shaped into rolls without any problem, no crumbling or anything. It seemed like 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder was so little, but the dough looked nice and chocolatey. I chilled the dough for about an hour and a half, and it had firmed up enough to slice. Sometimes slicing cookies that contain chopped nuts can be tricky, but the nuts were so fine in the dough that this wasn’t an issue.

I put all of the cookies on a wire baking rack and drizzled then with chocolate all at once. I put waxed paper under the rack to try and minimize the splatter, which worked fairly well. I only had a little bit of chocolate splatter to clean up. The chocolate drizzle really adds a lot to the cookie. The cocoa isn’t that strong of flavor and they seemed a little plain without the chocolate on top. Overall these were a really good cookie. My husband’s coworkers enjoyed them a lot.

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1-3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts

6 ounces chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon shortening

In a mixer bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds. Add sugar and salt, stir until combined, scrape bowl to make sure everything is combined. Add egg and cocoa powder and stir until combined. Add the flour and hazelnuts and mix until combined. You may need to do the last of the mixing by hand, depending on the power of your mixer.

Shape dough into two 11-inch-long rolls. Wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Chill for 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to slice.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats. Cut rolls into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or just until tops are firm to the touch. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

Combine chocolate and shortening in a small bowl. Microwave about 1 minute until melted; stir until smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies. Let stand until chocolate sets.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

1 comment:

Michelle said...

These look absolutely scrumptious! I want some now!