Hazelnut Cardamom Shortbread Cookies With Dark Chocolate Food

SWEDISH HAZELNUT & CARDAMOM COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180-degrees C (350-degrees F).

CHOCOLATE DIPPED HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts on baking sheet. Bake until they're a shade darker and fragrant, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• Lower oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts in blender or food processor and pulse to coarse bits; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt to blend; set aside.
• Beat butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Beat in egg. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add the chopped hazelnuts and mix until distributed evenly throughout.
• Form into long cookies and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks.
• In a saucepan over lowest heat or in a double boiler, melt chocolate. Dip 1 end of cooled cookies into melted chocolate. Place back on cookie sheet to harden.

HAZELNUT & CARDAMOM SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Process flour, hazelnuts, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor until hazelnuts are finely ground, about 40 seconds, stopping to stir halfway through.
• Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, add cardamom and vanilla and mix to combine.
• Add flour-hazelnut mixture and beat on medium until dough resembles damp sand and holds together when pressed between fingers, 3-4 minutes. (Make sure to mix for at least 3 minutes for best results.)
• Turn dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and firmly press together to form a 7×3-inch rectangle. Tightly wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 325° and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Slice chilled dough into ¼-inch thick slices and transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake 18-20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until edges begin to brown. Cool cookies on sheet pan 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
• In a glass bowl, melt chocolate chips in microwave on high in 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until completely melted.
• Dip cookies in chocolate, transfer to wire racks, and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Once chocolate has set, store cookies in an airtight container with parchment paper between each layer.

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, Nutella and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Add hazelnuts; mix well., Divide dough in half; shape each into a disk. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/4-in. scalloped round cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake until bottoms are light brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE, CARDAMOM & HAZELNUT TORTE

Steps:

• Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan until golden, then leave to cool slightly and blitz to a fine consistency in a food processor. Remove the cardamom seeds from their pods and grind using a pestle and mortar.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base of a 23cm spring-form cake tin. Use a microwave to melt the chocolate with the butter in 30-sec bursts until glossy and smooth. Leave to cool slightly.
• Using an electric whisk, in a very clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks. Then, without cleaning the beaters, whisk the yolks with the sugar in a separate bowl until pale and voluminous.
• Combine the chocolate with the egg yolk mixture, then incorporate the cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, the cardamom seeds and hazelnuts. Add a spoonful of egg white to the batter, stirring it through to loosen the mix, then fold in the rest, taking care to keep in as much air as possible. Gently pour into the tin and bake for 35 mins. Leave to cool in the tin, then dust with cocoa powder and serve with crème fraîche.