Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

I had some leftover hazelnuts from a prior baking experiment (posted soon my dears, I promise). I decided to make some hazelnut cookies. Found this recipe at allrecipes.com and adapted them a bit. I actually think this came from a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe to begin with (I recall her making a cookie strikingly similar to this, on a long-ago episode on Food Network).

I made these these early this morning around breakfast time, and let me just say: these suckers are perfect with a nice hot cup of coffee. Thin and crunchy, full of hazelnut flavor with a nice drizzle of chocolate on top. Yum. A crispy cookie form of biscotti, essentially. Dunk away!

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies



Ingredients:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, cubed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 c. hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped
2 (1oz) squares semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).

Blend flour, brown sugar, cornstarch, espresso powder, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and vanilla. Using the pulse cycle-or pressing on/off button on your food processor, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add nuts; blend until finely chopped. Transfer dough to floured work surface. Knead just until dough comes together.

Divide dough in half. Press each half into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom.
Bake at 350 F (175 C) until deep golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 2 minutes then remove sides of pan. Cut each shortbread round into 24 wedges. Cool completely. (Or! Use cookie cutters like I did.)

Stir chocolate in a saucepan over medium-low heat, until chocolate is smooth. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate mixture over cookies. Let stand until chocolate sets.