Hazelnut Espresso Shortbread Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Hazelnut Espresso Shortbread Cookies

Fantastic flavor and easy to make. I love how versatile shortbread can be. Dipping it in chocolate makes it extra indulgent.

Prep Time30

Total Bake Time24

Chill1

Total Time1 54

Course: Cookies, No-Eggs, Nuts

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Medium

Servings: cookies

Calories: 250kcal

Ingredients

SHORTBREAD

1 cup (227 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
⅔ cup (80 g) Powdered sugar
1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vanilla bean paste
3 Tablespoon (3 Tablespoon) Espresso coffee cooled
1 cup (120 g) Hazelnuts chopped
2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Baking powder
¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Kosher Salt

CHOCOLATE COATING

1 ½ cup (1 ½ cup) Milk chocolate wafers
1 cup (1 cup) White chocolate wafers

Instructions

SHORTBREAD

Take a cup with 8 ounces of hot water and add 3 tablespoons of espresso coffee ground. Stir and set it aside to cool. Chop the hazelnuts into small pieces and add them to a small bowl. Weigh or measure your powdered sugar into a bowl and set it aside. In a separate bowl, weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and salt together. I run a whisk through to blend them.
In a stand mixer or handheld, add the butter and mix on medium mixer speed for a minute. I scraped down the sides to make sure all the butter was incorporated. Turn the mixer speed on to a low setting and slowly add the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated. Next, add the vanilla bean paste and espresso coffee. Turn the mixer back to medium speed. I had to stop and scrape down the bowl and across the bottom to make sure everything was incorporated.
Turn the mixer speed to a low setting, adding about a third at a time the flour mixture. Turn the mixer off and add hazelnuts, turn the mixer on for about 10 seconds. You may need to hand mix the dough a little to make sure the hazelnuts go through the whole dough.
Take a pastry mat and sprinkle a little powdered sugar on it before adding the cookie dough. Divide the dough in half and roll and form 2 log shapes about 10 to 11 inches each. Take plastic wrap and wrap around each cookie dough log. I use a baguette pan to keep the logs round and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Take one log out of the refrigerator and unwrap the plastic and place it on a cutting board. I score the log every ¾ of an inch. Then slice the log and place the slices onto one of the prepared cookie sheet pans. These cookies do not spread hardly at all so they only need about an inch between each slice of cookie. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, leave on pan for about a minute or two after pulling the pan from the oven before moving to a cooling rack.

CHOCOLATE COATING

Using a microwave-safe bowl, (I split it into 2 batches) heat the milk chocolate wafers for 30 seconds in the microwave and then stir. The wafers will still be pretty solid. Heat for another 15 seconds and stir again. If it still needs heating to finish melting, do for another 10 seconds. Stir to melt the last small pieces of chocolate.
Layout a piece of parchment paper on the counter so you can lay the cookies on it after they are dipped. I tip the bowl slightly and dip about half of the cookie into the chocolate. Then lay it on the parchment paper for the chocolate to harden.
For the white line, I heat the white chocolate wafers as I did the milk chocolate wafers, but I put the white chocolate into a piping bag or a small disposable baggie. The baggie just snip a small piece of the bottom corner and you have a homemade piping bag. If using a piping bag, you can use whatever size tip you like. The smaller the hole, I find the line to be straighter. I used a larger hole at the end of the tip and it was not as straight.

Nutrition