Hazelnut Lovers’ Cookies - flour

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Add 1 cup (150g) of hazelnuts to your KitchenAid(R) K400 Blender. Cover the blender, select "Ice Crush" setting and let blender run through the setting. Use a rubber spatula scrape down the sides, then blend on speed 5 for 10 seconds. Scrape sides again and blend on speed 5 about 15-30 seconds, or until hazelnuts are finely ground.
• Pour hazelnut flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add all purpose flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
• Add half of the softened butter to the blender along with 1/3 of the sugar. Blend on speed 4 for 3 seconds, then scrape down the sides and stir with your rubber spatula. Add the remaining butter and another 1/3 of the sugar, then blend again on speed 4 for 3 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the blender and stir again before adding the last 1/3 of the sugar. Blend on speed 4 for 3 seconds two more times, stopping the blender in between to scrap and stir the mixture.
• Remove the lid cap and add egg yolk, whipping cream, hazelnut liqueur, and vanilla extract to blender. Replace the lid cap and pulse 3 times to mix, using your rubber spatula to scrape down sides after each pulse.
• Remove the lid and add the hazelnut flour mixture to the blender a third at a time, quickly pulsing 5 times after each addition and scraping down sides of blender with your rubber spatula as needed.
• Transfer dough to a medium mixing bowl, then cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours. (Note: the dough will be very sticky.)
• Place remaining 1/2 cup (83g) hazelnuts in large ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush into small pieces. Place into small bowl and set aside.
• Remove chilled dough from the freezer and use your hands to form into 1" balls. Roll the balls in the crushed hazelnuts and place 2-in apart on lined baking sheets (12 cookies per pan).
• Bake 10-12 min, or until cookies are still soft but dry to the touch. Let cookies cool on baking pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely.
• Make the chocolate drizzle. In a microwave-safe bowl, add chocolate chips and coconut oil. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring chocolate between each interval. (Depending on power of the microwave, this could take 2-3 cycles.)
• Use a spoon to drizzle each cookie with melted chocolate. Do not store cookies until chocolate is fully set (at least 30 minutes).
• NOTES: You can purchase dry roasted hazelnuts, or roast raw hazelnuts. To roast hazelnuts; spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 275°F/135°C for 15-20 minutes. Let nuts cool for 10 minutes before adding to the blender.
• When mixing the butter and sugar take care to incorporate all the butter into the sugar-you are looking for a light, fluffy texture. This will yield a light, moist cookie.
• Once formed into balls and rolled in the crushed hazelnuts, the cookie dough can be placed in a ziploc bag and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Simply remove from the freezer and bake dough balls from frozen. Note: you may need to add 5-10 minutes of baking time.
• Cookies will keep for 5 days in an airtight container stored at room temperature.