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Coffee Hazelnut Cookies

Posted By Cenk On December 4, 2007 @ 10:17 am In Cookies | 26 Comments

Coffee and Hazlenut Cookies. The first recipe I’ve tried from Alice Medrich’s new book Pure Dessert. The book is full of simple and delicious recipes that focus on pure flavor. That is also evident from the way the book is organized; the recipes are categorized by ingredients rather than dessert types.

No fancy frostings, no overpowering ingredients clashing – just a few ingredients that work wonders.

There is a huge informative section on ingredients, techniques and equipment at the beginning of the book. The recipes are very clear and easy to follow and the book is worth buying for the food photography alone.

In this recipe, coffee and hazelnuts (the original recipe has walnuts instead) are playing the lead roles. These cookies turned out crispy (maybe crispier than intended as I always tend to overbake) and full of flavor. It is like eating hazelnut cookies and drinking coffee at the same time.

There are so many other tempting recipes to try and so little time. I think the chestnut pound cake is next.

COFFEE AND HAZELNUT COOKIES RECIPE

Makes 45 2-inch cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup hazelnuts (whole)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp fresh finely ground medium-roast coffee beans, plus 45 whole beans
  • 14 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method

  1. Combine the flour, hazelnuts, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the hazelnuts are finely ground.
  2. Add the ground coffee and pulse to mix.
  3. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.
  4. Drizzle in pure vanilla extract and pulse until the dough begins to clump up around the blade.
  5. Remove the dough and press it into a ball. Knead a few times to complete the mixing.
  6. At this point, you can either roll the dough into a 12×2 inch log or divide the dough in half and form into 2 flat patties.
  7. Wrap it and refrigerate at least two hours (or overnight).
  8. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
  9. If you rolled the dough into a log, cut into 1/4 inch slices and place on ungreased sheets 1 inch apart. Press a coffee bean into the center of each cookie.
  10. If you formed the flat patties, roll the dough between two pieces of wax paper to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Using cookie cutters, cut out cookies and place on ungreased sheets 1 inch apart. Press a coffee bean into the center of each cookie.
  11. Bake until golden at the edges, 14-16 minutes. Let cookies firm up at room temperature before you transfer to a rack.
  12. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for at least a month!

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