Honey Hazelnut Cookies
- Butter for the pans
- 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts, skin on
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup amaranth flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 5 pods cardamom, smashed
- Zest of 1 orange, using a wide peeler
- 1 tablespoon orange blossom water
- Place oven racks at the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350F.
- Spread the hazelnuts evenly on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 16 to 18 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the nuts are fragrant and dark brown but not burnt.
- Remove from the oven and cool.
- Once the nuts are cool, grind them, skins and all, in a food processor until finely ground, about 20 seconds.
- Rub two baking sheets lightly with butter.
- While the nuts are toasting, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, pouring back any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.
- Add the softened butter and the ground hazelnuts to the dry ingredients and rub the butter into the dough with your fingers.
- The ingredients should just barely come together.
- Dump the dough out onto a floured work surface and press it together.
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of about 3/16 inch.
- If the dough seems to be cracking, push it back into place and continue rolling.
- You probably won't need any additional flour to roll out the dough, as it will be quite dry.
- Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles and transfer them to the buttered baking sheets.
- Alternatively, you can use cookie cutters of any shape.
- Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, depending on the size and shape of your cookies.
- Rotate the pan halfway through.
- The cookies should be evenly golden, with slightly darker edges and a dark golden bottom crust.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, move them onto a baking rack for glazing.
- Meanwhile, make the syrup.
- In a small saucepan over a low flame, melt the honey, cardamom, orange zest, and orange-blossom water.
- Do not let the syrup boil, as you don't want to reduce the honey and risk crystallization.
- Stir the syrup and remove it from the heat, letting it infuse for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- To glaze the cookies, brush each one twice while they are still warm to give the glaze a chance to soak into them.
- These cookies are best eaten as soon as they've cooled, but they'll keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
butter, hazelnuts, unsalted butter, amaranth flour, flour, sugar, kosher salt, honey, pods cardamom, orange, orange blossom water
Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/honey-hazelnut-cookies (may not work)