Hazelnut Espresso Shortbread Cookies

Loving nuts prompted me to come up with a cookie recipe using them. I know this is more of a fall to winter nut but I couldn't help myself!!! In the morning, I always have coffee with hazelnut creamer and I have done this for years. I cannot believe it took me this long to think about transferring these flavors to a cookie.

Shortbread is the best type of cookie to add flavors to since it doesn't really have a strong taste of its own. I wanted a good hint of vanilla, so I used the vanilla bean paste. You can also use vanilla extract, but I would add ½ teaspoon more to equal the vanilla bean paste.

Ingredients

Shortbread

• Butter unsalted
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla bean paste
• Espresso coffee
• Hazelnuts
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Kosher Salt

Chocolate Coating

• Milk chocolate wafers
• White chocolate wafers

Making Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are easy to make and you can get all the cookies on 2 half sheet cookie pans. So it is easy and not too much prep work.

Prepping

The first thing is to make the espresso coffee, so it has time to cool down. This is the ratio I used for my coffee. I have a Keurig coffee maker, so I just added 8oz of hot water to a cup. Then I added 3 tablespoons of the espresso powder to the hot water and stirred to mix. Set it aside to cool.

Now, the hazelnuts I purchased were chopped, but with shortbread cookies I like to make the nuts smaller to spread them more evenly throughout the cookie dough.

This is the size the hazelnuts come packaged. They are a little bigger than I like for shortbread.

So grab a cutting board and a sharp knife and dice them up a little smaller. If the pieces are too big, they break the cookie up more when eating them.

Now weigh or measure the powered sugar and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour. Add to it the baking powder and salt. I run a whisk through to blend the 3 ingredients. Set this bowl aside.

Mixing the Shortbread Cookie Dough

I cube the butter into the mixer bowl. This lets me know how cold the butter is by how easily it cut. If it is still cold, it will take a couple of minuted for it to get creamed in texture.

Start the mixer on low and increase the speed until it reaches a medium speed. It should only take about a minute or two to have soft peaks.

Normally I do not sift powdered sugar, but mine was very lumpy, so I sifted it using a strainer. If you have a flour sifter, that is perfect as well.

I sift the powdered sugar right on top of the creamed butter.

Mix the powdered sugar and the creamed butter on a medium mixer speed for 3 minutes. It should be lighter in color and have soft peaks and look very creamy.

Now add the vanilla bean paste and the espresso coffee*. Mix on medium mixer speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the side and on a low mixer speed add the flour mixture about a ⅓ at a time. This should only take a minute. Then add the nuts and incorporate.

*Espresso Coffee - The espresso coffee is strong so add a tablespoon at a time and see how it tastes. If you are a coffee person like me, add all 3 tablespoons.

Roll, Wrap, and Chill Cookie Dough

If you have a pastry mat, great if not, just do this on your counter.

I sprinkle a little of the powered sugar down first, then add the cookie dough. I also add a little of the sugar on top. It helps with rolling the cookie dough into logs.

Now, here you have a choice. I roll my dough into a large log and then divide it into two. You can roll 1 log, but I find it easier to wrap, slice, and then dip in the chocolate if they are not huge. My 2 logs are about 10 or 11 inches long.

Wrap each log in plastic wrap. You can smooth them out after the plastic wrap is on the log. I have a baguette pan I use to hold the logs while they chill in the refrigerator.

Chill for at least an hour. Now, what I sometimes do is make the shortbread and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. Then, slice and bake it the next day. With my schedule, it works out well.

Measure, Slice, and Bake

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.

I get a cutting board, sharp knife, and a measuring tape. If you are good at eyeing up even slices, skip the measuring tape. I score the log first into ¾-inch intervals before I slice the log.

Slice the log and add them to a prepared pan. I got 12 slices from my first log and 14 slices from the second log. You can easily fit 14 cookies onto the sheet pan, these do not spread hardly at all.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. I leave them on the pan for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack.

Chocolate Coating

Ok, I am the first to admit I am not a cookie decorator. I try hard lol. So just putting that out there.

I lay 2 parchment paper either down on the counter or on the cooling rack. This is where you will put the cookies after they are dipped. Make sure the cookies have completely cooled before starting the chocolate coating. There are two reasons for this:

• The cookies are not as crumbly after they have cooled and set. This will make it easier to dip them into the chocolate.
• The chocolate will not harden if the cookies are still warm.

I usually do the milk chocolate melting in two batches. As the melted chocolate cools, it gets solid and harder to dip the cookies. Add the milk chocolate wafers to a microwavable bowl. I heat for 30 seconds in the microwave and then stir. The wafers are just getting soft. Heat for another 15 seconds and stir. If needed, do another 10 seconds. As you stir, the remaining wafers will melt.

I dipped half of the cookie into the chocolate and left the other half with no chocolate. I did this so I could see the nuts on the other half. Lay them on the parchment paper to harden.

To make the white chocolate line, I used a small piping bag and your choice of size for the tip. Melt the white chocolate (all at the same time) in the microwave just like you did for the milk chocolate. Add it to the piping bag and pipe a white line so it covers the edge of the milk chocolate.

They take about 30 minutes to harden completely. My white lines could have been a little straighter, but they all taste the same.

Enjoy!

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