Cookies that could be as good as Christmas Cookies as they are here in the summer-time: Chocolate-dipped Salted Caramel-candied Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies! Yes, that’s a mouthful to say (and to eat, har har). Hazelnut shortbread, dipped in decadent dark chocolate and then partially coated in a salted caramel hazelnut crunch — sort of like a topping that you put on ice cream or an ice cream cone. Not too sweet, just the right size for two bites. Would be a great “after dinner” dessert cookie.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Hazelnut or vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 package Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers
2/3 cup salted caramel hazelnut krokant*
You will also need a 2 – 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter (shape of your choice)
Directions
In mixing bowl, cream together unsalted butter, sugar, egg and hazelnut extract until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt until smooth and well combined. Chill in refrigerator 2-3 hours or until firm enough to be rolled.
Preheat over to 400F. Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.
Roll out half of the dough on a well-floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness (be careful to get the surface even, otherwise you will have oddly-browned cookies. Also, do not roll the dough to thin, otherwise you will have hard cookies when they come out of the oven). Cut with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheet lined with silpat or onto parchment paper. Refrigerate each tray for about ten minutes (this is very important for the cookies to hold their shape; do not skip this step!) Once you take the sheet of cookies out of the fridge, brush each cookie with a very light layer of egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with a bit of one of the toppings. Repeat this with other half of the dough.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown at the edges. Cool on wire rack until completely cool.
Line sheet pans or your counter with wax paper. Melt the melting wafers in a glass or metal bowl set over simmering water, or in the microwave according to the package directions. Dip each cookie halfway into the chocolate, letting the excess drip off and sprinkle with the salted caramel hazelnut krokant. Let chocolate harden completely before serving.
*You might be lucky enough to find hazelnut krokant prepackaged in Germany, but you can make your own like this. Chop hazelnut to a medium to small size and toast in a pan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and salt and continue to toast until the sugar has melted and starts to stick to the nuts. You should still all the while as the nuts are prone to burning. spread out on a sheet pan and let cool completely. Once cooled, smash the candied hazelnuts to smaller pieces.
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