This cookie is all about hazelnut and chocolate, a perfect pair! Although, I won’t judge if you further pair them with a dunk in your coffee (or bourbon). These cookies are a great addition to your holiday baking plan and would be a nice one to exchange with friends and/or family. In fact, don’t stop there! Bake them for your coworkers, add them to any daytime function that involves coffee or serve them as an after-dinner treat for guests. They’re sophisticated, they’re lightly sweet and you can’t miss the wonderful flavors of hazelnut and chocolate. Enjoy!!
This recipe will make 23 cookies, give or take a cookie. It takes 30 minutes of active prep time with an additional hour and a half of baking and cooling time.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup hazelnut meal
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup chopped hazelnut
8 ounces dark chocolate
Directions:
1. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Add the flour, hazelnut meal, salt, cinnamon and baking powder to a bowl and toss to combine. These are your dry ingredients.
3. Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl, mix on medium speed until well-combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom.
4. On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones. Once everything is combined, add the chopped hazelnut. Turn the mixer off and give it a stir by hand to make sure the hazelnuts are evenly distributed.
5. Next, you’ll create the loaves of biscotti. The goal here is to have two rectangular loaves with the long side of the loaf being parallel with the long side of the pan (see pictures above). To do this: Arrange the pan so that the long side is parallel with you. Scoop half the dough on the side nearest you. Lightly flour your hands and mold the batter into a 9×3 inch rectangle, it should be a ½ inch thick.
Note: The dough should be sticky, continue flouring your hands as needed, meanwhile, do not add so much flour that the surface of the dough is coated. Once your rectangle is ready, there should be no visible flour left on it.
6. Repeat step 5 with the rest of the dough. Don’t worry if one rectangle is slightly longer than the other.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, until firm with a little softness to the touch. The loaves should just be starting to turn golden brown.
8. Take the loaves out of the oven and allow them to cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
9. Using a large knife (serrated or a smooth blade is fine), carefully cut off the short ends of each loaf. From there, cut every ¾ inch creating about 23 cookies total.
10. Place the cookies back on the prepared baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for 20 minutes.
11. Leave the cookies on the pan in a cool place. Let them sit for 10 minutes, until they’re mostly cool.
12. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue this cycle until the chocolate is melted. It should take about a minute and a half.
Note: Choose a bowl that has a wide enough bottom to dip the base of the cookies. I used a medium-sized food storage container.
13. Line a cutting board or cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
14. Take a cookie and gently shake off excess crumbs, then dip the base of the cookie (the uncut bottom) into the chocolate. Scrape the bottom of the cookie on the side of the bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Place the cookie, chocolate-side down on the prepared parchment paper/baking mat. See the video below!
15. The chocolate will set in about 40 minutes at room temperature or 25 minutes in the refrigerator. To check them, gently try and peel them off the parchment paper/silicon mat. If they come off clean, they’re ready.
16. These cookies can be served immediately or stored at room temperature in an airtight container.