Tuscan Hazelnut Orange Shortbread Food

HAZELNUT-ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Process nuts in a food processor until finely chopped, about 20 seconds (do not overprocess). Transfer nuts to a large bowl; add flour, granulated sugar, butter, zest, and salt. Mix with hands until dough just comes together and forms a ball.
• Halve dough; shape each into a disk. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With lightly floured hands, shape 1 disk into a 7-inch round, and score to mark 12 equal wedges (do not cut through). Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sanding sugar. Repeat with remaining disk and sanding sugar.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. While shortbread is warm, cut wedges to separate completely. Let wedges cool slightly on sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

ORANGE-HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Line two baking sheets with parchment.
• Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer bowl (use the paddle attachment) or a large mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until the butter combines with the sugar but isn't perfectly smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the flour, ground hazelnuts, and zest; mix on low speed, scraping the bowl frequently, until the dough has just about pulled together, about 3 minutes; don't overmix.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Aim for a uniform thickness to ensure even baking.
• Cut the dough into bars or squares with a sharp knife or, using cookie cutters, cut out shapes as close to one another as possible. Press the scraps together, roll them out, and cut out more cookies. If the dough becomes sticky, refrigerate it briefly.
• Arrange the cookies on two parchment-lined baking sheets and refrigerate until chilled, at least 20 minutes.
• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F Bake the cookies until golden on the bottom and edges and pale to golden on top, 30 minutes to 1 hour. (After 15 minutes, swap the position of the baking sheets and rotate them 180 degrees for even baking.) If the cookies are done before 30 min., reduce the oven temperature to 275°F for the remaining batches; if they take longer than 1 hour, increase the temperature to 325°F.

TUSCAN HAZELNUT-ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Place the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer; toast in upper rack of oven, shaking occasionally, until skins begin to split, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on); immediately rub hazelnuts vigorously in a clean kitchen towel to remove skins (as much as will come off easily). Let cool.
• Finely chop hazelnuts in a food processor (do not overprocess), about 20 seconds. Transfer chopped nuts to a large bowl, and add flour, granulated sugar, melted butter, zest, and the salt. Mix with hands until dough just comes together and forms a ball.
• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough in half. Shape each piece into a disk; transfer each disk to a lined baking sheet. With lightly floured hands, flatten one piece into a 7-inch round.
• Score round to divide into 12 equal wedges (do not cut all the way through). Sprinkle round with 1 tablespoon sanding sugar. Repeat with remaining disk.
• Bake shortbread in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until rounds are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. While shortbread is still warm, cut wedges to fully separate. Let wedges cool slightly on sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add syrup and vanilla. Beat in flour just until combined; fold in nuts. Shape into two 1-1/2-in. rolls; wrap tightly in waxed paper. Chill for 2 hours or until firm. , Cut into 1/4-in. slices and place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 14-16 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. , In separate microwave-safe bowls, melt candy coating disks; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set.

CLASSIC SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-12-1/2-inch jelly roll pan and line it with parchment, then butter the paper.
• Whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat on low until the dough is just combined; do not overwork.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, spreading it out as evenly as possible with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap, then use your hands to press and flatten the dough into a smooth even layer. Remove the plastic and cut the dough with a sharp knife into approximately 1-by-3-inch bars. Use a fork to prick a decorative pattern into the tops.
• Bake, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through, until golden, 60 to 70 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes in the pan, then re-cut the bars along the previous cuts. Carefully lift the bars off the parchment with a small spatula and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

HAZELNUT ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Process nuts in a food processor until finely chopped, about 20 seconds (do not overprocess). Transfer nuts to a large bowl; add flour, granulated sugar, butter, zest, and salt. Mix with hands until dough just comes together and forms a ball.
• Halve dough; shape each into a disk. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With lightly floured hands, shape one disk into a 7-inch round and score to mark 12 equal wedges (do not cut all the way through). Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sanding sugar. Repeat with remaining disk and sanding sugar.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. While shortbread is warm, cut wedges to separate completely. Let wedges cool slightly on sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD STICKS

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.
• Shape dough by tablespoonfuls into 3-inch-long logs. Place on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until light golden brown around edges, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool cookies completely.
• Stir milk chocolate in top of double boiler over barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Place 1/3 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts in small bowl. Dip 1 end of cookie into melted chocolate, then into coarsely chopped hazelnuts. Return to rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. (Cookies can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

CRISP ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Beat the butter, then cream it with the sugar and orange zest until light. Stir in the flour and baking powder and mix together to form a dough.
• Divide the mixture into 10 balls, arrange on a baking sheet. Press each ball fl at with the tip of a round-bladed knife. Chill for 15 mins, then bake for 12-15 mins until light golden. Leave on the baking sheet for 2 mins before releasing with a palette knife. Slide onto a rack to cool. Will keep stored in an airtight container for up to a week.