Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Hazelnut shortbread cookies, easily made in a tart pan, with a buttery, crumbly texture and rich hazelnut flavor that's perfect for the holidays.
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Equipment
- Food Processor or Pastry Cutter
- Long Tart Pan with Removable Bottom (5 1/2 x 14 inches)
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ cup raw unsalted hazelnuts, divided
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp praline hazelnut extract (optional)
- 3 tbsp whole milk
- ½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella)
Instructions
Make, Cut and Chill the Dough
- In your food processor, measure the flour, powdered sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts. Pulse several times until well combined and the hazelnuts are finely chopped and dispersed throughout the mixture.
- With the processor running, drop the butter down the chute, a tablespoon at a time, and process the mixture until moist and crumbly.
- Add the vanilla extract, hazelnut extract and milk, and process just until the dough comes together into a dough ball.
- Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and gather any dry floury bits together, shaping the dough into a ball, and lightly dusting it with a little extra flour.
- Press the dough into an even layer in your tart pan, dusting the top with a little more flour, if it's sticking to your hands.
- Use a toothpick, skewer or cake tester to prick the dough all over - this is called "docking the dough", and helps prevent it from puffing up as it bakes.
- Using a sharp, non-serrated knife, cut the dough in half, lengthwise down the middle of the pan. Now cut it horizontally into 12ths, so you have a total of 24 cookies. Dip the knife in flour as needed, to keep it from sticking to the dough. Cutting the dough in the pan before baking makes it much easier to cut without breaking it after it comes out of the oven.
- Refrigerate the shortbread for 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 300 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the chilled shortbread for about 40 minutes, until the top looks golden brown and baked through.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack, and immediately cut the shortbread again, following the same lines. Cool completely in the pan before removing the sides of the pan.
- Store the baked shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.
- For serving the cookies, use a small offset spatula to swirl some chocolate hazelnut spread on top of the cookies. Finely chop the remaining 1/4 cup hazelnuts, and sprinkle on top.
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