Hazelnut + Chocolate Melties

 Prep Time : 15-45 Minutes | Cook Time : 20 Minutes | Total Time : 3 hours | Difficulty : Easy

Hello my lovelies! Well the first burst of spring was short-lived! We have had gale-force winds, sleet and hail in the last week. I also have my first real cold of the year both of which have left me moping around trapped in the house for the last few days. What could be better than a melt-in-your-mouth cookie that comes together in the food processor and is the perfect companion for a hot coffee? These cookies are a breeze to make, the only tricky part is toasting the hazelnuts. If you can get them, buy pre-toasted hazelnuts. It’s a bit more expensive but they will always be perfectly done and it saves the fiddling of getting the skins off. Here in Wellington I buy the Hazelz brand. I love the flavour of hazelnuts and I’ve found the only way to get genuine hazelnut flavour to come through is to use the nuts themselves. I am yet to find any flavouring or extract that gives a good result.

If you need to toast your hazelnuts, heat the oven to 150C (300F) and spread the nuts out on a rimmed tray. Toast gently for 10 to 15 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden. Tip the hazelnuts onto a tea towel and fold the towel over them. Rub them with the towel to remove the skins. Set them aside to cool.

Pop the hazelnuts in the food processor and blend until finely ground. Tip them out into a bowl.

Put the rest of the ingredients except for the chocolate and egg yolks in the food processor and blend until it looks sandy.

Add back the hazelnuts along with the chocolate and egg yolks and blend until a dough forms. Run the processor for about 30 seconds more to make sure the dough is super smooth.

Tip the dough out onto the bench and quickly bring it together into a ball. Wrap tightly and chill for 2 hours.

Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Using a tablespoon or a small cookie scoop, portion out the dough. Roll each portion into a ball and place on the cookie sheets.

The cookies won’t spread much so you can put them fairly close together. Using a fork, or the bottom of a glass that has a nice design, or a patterned cookie stamp, flatten the balls to between half an inch and an inch high.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until fragrant and browned slightly on the bottom. Let the cookies cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

While I am firmly on team tea, these cookies are magical dipped into hot espresso.