Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprints Recipes

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.

DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Place a heatproof medium bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water; don't let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Drop in the chunks of butter and scatter over the chocolate. Heat, stirring now and then, until the butter and chocolate are melted, but not so hot that they separate, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove the bowl from the saucepan and whisk in the sugar. (Don't be alarmed when the mixture turns grainy.) One by one, add the cold eggs, whisking vigorously until the mixture is thick and smooth, and the whisk leaves tracks. Beat in the vanilla, then switch to a spatula and add the flour in 3 additions, stirring gently between each addition, until the flour disappears into the dough. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 4 days.
• When you're ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and heat it to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Put the sanding or granulated sugar in a small bowl and, if you've got one, have a cork from a wine bottle at hand.
• Using a small cookie scoop or measuring spoon, scoop mounds of dough, each a scant tablespoon. Roll the dough into balls and then roll the balls in the sugar to coat. Place the balls on the baking sheets, giving them 1½ inches or so of space to spread. Press the cork into the center of each cookie or use your thumb to make an indentation.
• Bake 1 sheet for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies feel firmish. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack. The indentations will have puffed in the oven, so you'll want to press them down again. Repeat with the second sheet. Let cookies cool completely.
• Fill the prints: Melt milk, dark or ruby chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. If using white chocolate, add oil before melting and stir until smooth. While the chocolate is still warm and fluid, use a small spoon to fill each indentation to the brim, letting the chocolate fall from the end of the spoon. Slide the cookies into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to set the chocolate. The cookies will keep for about 5 days in a covered container at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour mix, xanthan gum, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, mixing on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and egg replacer. Mix for 20 seconds.
• Add the flour mixture to the creamed batter in three batches, alternating with the rice milk, mixing on low speed and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Scoop out the dough by 2 teaspoonfuls and place on the baking sheets, 12 per sheet. Wet your hands with a little water and roll the dough into balls.
• Bake in the center of the oven for 5 minutes.
• Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and melt. This will take about 1 minute; check the chips halfway through and stir. Once the chips are melted, set them aside.
• Remove the cookies from the oven. Wet your thumb with cool water and, working quickly, make thumbprint marks in the center of each cookie. Fill the thumbprints with 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate.
• Return the cookies to the oven and bake an additional 5 to 6 minutes, or until set.
• Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a cooling rack.
• Jammy Thumbprint Cookies: Fill thumbprints with 1/2 teaspoon jam instead of chocolate. Raspberry, strawberry, and apricot all work very well for this.

HAZELNUT THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put butter and 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and vanilla, and mix well. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and salt, and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.
• Stir together toasted hazelnuts and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; dip balls in egg white, then in hazelnut-sugar mixture. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press down center of each ball with your thumb. Bake for 10 minutes.Remove from oven; press down centers again with the end of a wooden spoon. Return to oven. Bake cookies until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes more. Let cool slightly on sheets on wire racks. Fill each center with jam.