Hazelnut Ganache Thumbprint Cookies Food

CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Tip the hazelnuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the flours, sugar and a pinch of flaked sea salt, and process for 20-30 secs until fully combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture just starts to come together. Tip the dough out onto a work surface and knead by hand until smooth.
• Roll the dough into 25 small balls, then transfer to the prepared baking tray. Using your thumb or the handle of a wooden spoon, make an indent in the centre of each piece of dough. Put the tray in the fridge and chill for 30 mins before baking. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins or until light golden brown. Put the chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until fully melted. Use a teaspoon to top each cookie with a little melted chocolate. Put aside until the chocolate has set.

HAZELNUT FORTUNE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lightly whip the egg white, hazelnut extract, hazelnut paste, and sugar. Sift the flour and mix into the egg white until smooth. Stir in the butter.
• Using a template 3 1/2-inch round, spread the batter on a sheet pan lined with a silpat. (If you don't have a template, you can drop 2 teaspoons of batter onto the sheet pan and spread evenly into a 3 1/2-inch circle.)
• Bake for approximately 5 minutes until the edges become brown. Remove from the oven.
• One at a time and working quickly, turn a cookie over, place a fortune in the center of the cookie. Draw opposite edges towards the center, slightly overlapping and then fold the ends downwards, in half. You can fold over the rim of a bowl. Cookies will crisp as they cool.
• When cool, coat the outer rim with melted chocolate and rolled in chopped hazelnuts.

HAZELNUT GANACHE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, hazelnut meal and a pinch of salt
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar together until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract; beat once more. In 2 additions, add the dry ingredient mixture, scraping down the bowl if needed, until completely combined. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Scoop scant tablespoonfuls of dough, roll into balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them a few inches apart. Make an indentation, a thumbprint, in the center of each ball of dough using your thumb and/or the help of your index finger. Bake until the bottoms are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately reinforce the thumbprints using the end of a wooden spoon. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
• While the cookies are cooling, make the ganache. Place the chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Add the heavy cream to a small saucepan set over medium-high flame and heat until the cream is scalding. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth.
• When the cookies are cool, add a scant teaspoon of chocolate ganache to each thumbprint. Top with a sprinkle of flaked sea salt. If transporting, allow the chocolate to set for 1 hour.

MATCHA THUMBPRINT COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and bake until lightly toasted, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
• Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, matcha and salt in a bowl.
• Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and egg yolk. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating after each until just incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and make sure the dough is evenly mixed.
• Roll the dough into about thirty-two 1-inch balls, making them as smooth and even as you can, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Use the back of a round teaspoon measuring spoon to flatten the cookies and make an indentation in the center of each ball (rearrange the cookies as necessary so that they fit; they don't spread out too much, so about 1/2 inch of space between them is sufficient). If making the indentation causes a large crack, repair the crack with your fingers or re-roll the cookie and try again. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake the cookies until the undersides are light golden brown and the tops puffed and set, about 11 minutes. Remove the cookies and use the teaspoon measuring spoon to re-make the indentations that have puffed up during baking. Bake the cookies for 1 minute more, then cool on the baking sheet.
• For the chocolate filling: Put the chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Put the cream, butter and corn syrup in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until steaming hot. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate chips and let stand 5 minutes, then stir the mixture with a rubber spatula until smooth. If the chocolate chips do not completely melt, microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth.
• Spoon about 1 teaspoon of chocolate into the well of each cookie, then lightly press a toasted walnut half into each. Let stand until the chocolate sets.