Chocolate-Cherry Cookies with Hazelnuts

 These little biscuits are unbelievable.  And, one my current favorite recipe features, quick and easy.  No batches in and out of the oven.  No wasted space on the baking sheet.  These darlings cook in one big corner-to-corner cookie, which you later slice into diamonds with your pizza wheel, but not before melting and spreading a boatload of chocolate on them, and sprinkling with toasted hazelnuts.  YUUUUUUUUM!

"But, Kari," you say, "your cookies aren't diamond-shaped!"  And that would be because I took geometry in the summer of 1989 - yes, summer school, to get a year ahead in math, and because the guy I liked was in summer school that year and I could ride the same bus as him, and it was sooo worth it - and haven't used a lick of it since.  I thought, Diamonds.  That means go diagonal.  So I went diagonal.  In both directions.  And ended up with squares.  Not very even ones, either.  Turns out, to get diamonds you have to go straight in one direction and diagonal in the other.  Thank you, summer school. 

Chocolate-Cherry Cookies with Hazelnuts (print recipe)
Makes about 50

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped dried cherries
3/4 cup (5 1/2 ounces) superfine sugar
1/4 tsp salt
16 T unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into sixteen 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 T cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and chopped

1.  Place an oven rack in the lower-middle position and preheat to 375 degrees.  Line an 18" x 12" baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the flour, cherries, sugar, and salt at low speed until combined, about 5 seconds.  With the mixer running on low, add the butter 1 piece at a time; continue to mix until the mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, about 1 minute longer.  Add the vanilla and cream cheese and mix on low until the dough just begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.

3.  Press the dough in an even layer into the parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

4.  Immediately after removing the baking sheet from the oven, sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips; let stand to melt, about 3 minutes.

 5.  Use an offset icing spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer, then sprinkle evenly with the chopped hazelnuts.  Cool on a wire rack until just warm, 15 to 20 minutes.

6.  Use a pizza wheel to cut the cookies into 1 1/4-inch diamonds - this is done by cutting strips straight in one direction, and diagonally in the other.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Baking Illustrated: The Practical Kitchen Companion for the Home Baker

1 year ago:  Cranberry Lime Scones
2 years ago:  Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake and Frosting
3 years ago:  Blue Blueberry Muffins

Caramel-Hazelnut Brownies

Definitely, definitely time for some chocolate. Maybe with a caramel-hazelnut layer on top. And then some more chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. Yeah, so...anyone out there not like where I'm going with this?Fudgy brownie, yummy chewy gooey caramel layer, toasty hazelnuts, dark chocolate...just cut the brownies small if you've got lightweights around. Because these are for serious brownie lovers only!
Caramel-Hazelnut Brownies (print recipe)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), melted
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 14-ounce package vanilla caramels, unwrapped
2 T milk
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
2 T hazelnut liqueur, optional (I left out)
2 cups dark or bittersweet chocolate pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Generously grease foil; set pan aside. In a large bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. In an extra-large bowl combine sugar and melted butter. Beat with an electric mixer on low until well mixed. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Spread batter evenly in prepared baking pan.

3. In a large microwave-safe bowl combine caramels and milk. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 1/4 to 2 minutes or until caramels are melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts and the liqueur, if using. Drizzle caramel mixture over batter in pan.

4. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand about 2 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Spread chocolate evenly over brownies. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup hazelnuts.

5. Cool in pan on a wire rack. If necessary, chill until chocolate is set. Using edges of foil, lift brownies out of pan. Cut into bars. Makes 36 brownies.

Recipe from 9x13: The Perfect Fit Dish

Chocolate Chunk Nutella Cookies

Can you see those chocolate chunks or are you blind? SO chunky. SO chocolatey. SO hazelnutty (you can see them, too.) And on top of it all, there is NUTELLA in the batter. Oh, it's like heaven in a cookie! I was at Costco the other day and saw a big old two-pack of Nutella vats. I immediately thought, That would make a lot of cookies. But you can never have too many.

Chocolate Chunk Nutella Cookies (print recipe)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup Nutella or hazelnut paste
2 large eggs, room temperature
Scrapings from 1 split vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 cups (12 oz.) bittersweet chocolate (60-66%), coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch pieces or larger
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts, optional (I used 14 oz. of a large dark chocolate bar with almonds, chopped up in big ol' nice hunks)

1. Position oven racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat to 375. Line two or three rimmed baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper.

3. Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer; beat on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the speed to medium-low, then add the Nutella and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition, then add the vanilla bean scrapings, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate pieces and, if desired, the nuts.

4. Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets, flattening them slightly by hand as needed. (At this point the mounds of dough can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to a month.)

5. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back*. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing. Repeat to use all of dough. Makes 38 to 42 cookies

*If you like a chewier cookie, underbake them a little. If you like crispy, then bake away.

Recipe from The Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark

Pancake Week #7 Hazelnut Pancakes with Raspberry Coulis

Well here is Pancake Week's final, and possibly best, recipe. There are pulverized hazelnuts, lots of them. Nutmeg, one of my favorites. And I think the special secret is the browned butter, adding that rich toasty taste you can't get any other way.

As for the Raspberry Coulis (coulis just means a thick pureed sauce), I could just eat it with a spoon. I added extra sugar but just make it to your taste. It is cool and tart in contrast to the warm sweet pancakes, and together they are divine. I love the suggestion at the end to serve with chocolate and creme fraiche as well - because these pancakes, and anyone who makes them, deserve the very best. Happy Pancake Week!

Hazelnut Pancakes (print recipe)
4 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup hazelnuts, skinned*
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Dash of salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Continue cooking, keeping a watchful eye on the pan, until the butter turns a deep, dark, nutty brown, about 5 to 8 minutes. The butter should become very brown and there will be some solid bits in the pan - that's OK - but you must not let it burn. Set the pan aside.

2. Put the hazelnuts and sugar in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process to pulverize the nuts. Don't worry if small bits of nuts remain - it's better to have a few crunchy pieces of nut than to turn the mass into hazelnut butter, which is what you'll get if you process the mixture too long. Transfer the nuts and sugar to a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt, and whisk to combine.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, extracts and brown butter, scraping the dark bits from the bottom of the pan into the bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix with the whisk, stopping when everything is just combined. Don't worry if batter is a bit lumpy.

4. If necessary, lightly butter or spray your griddle or skillet. Preheat over medium heat or 350. If you want to hold the pancakes until serving time, preheat oven to 200.

5. Spoon 2 T batter onto griddle for each pancake, allowing ample space for spreading. When the undersides are very brown and the tops are lightly speckled with bubbles that pop and stay open, flip the pancakes over with a wide spatula and cook until the other sides are light brown. Serve immediately, or keep the finished pancakes in the preheated oven while you make the rest of the batch. Makes about 15 pancakes.

*Skinning hazelnuts: Toast them in a skillet over medium-low or on a baking sheet in a 350 oven for a few minutes, until fragrant and the skins start to crack. You will both see and hear them crackling. Then pour them onto half of a clean textured dishtowel (terry cloth or waffle weave are good.) Fold the other half of the towel over the nuts and rub them - the cracked skins will flake/rub off pretty easily.

Raspberry Coulis
1/2 pint (about 1 1/4 cups) fresh or unthawed frozen unsweetened raspberries
2 T sugar, or more to taste
1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
2 tsp orange juice or orange liqueur

Puree the berries with the sugar and lemon juice in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade. Taste and add more sugar and/or lemon juice if needed. Add the orange juice. Pour into a covered container and chill until ready to serve. Can be made up to 1 day in advance.

To Serve:
Serve Hazelnut Pancakes hot off the griddle simply with a drizzle of Raspberry Coulis
- OR -
Spread each pancake with a little melted bittersweet chocolate and a spoonful of lightly sweetened Creme Fraiche. Add a drizzle of Raspberry Coulis and a shower of finely chopped toasted hazelnuts.

Recipe from Pancakes: from Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan

Bread Week #6 Chocolate-Hazelnut Bread with Nutella Drizzle

I was in the magazine aisle at the grocery store. It's tucked away by the florist, near the restroom. Poppy had a blowout, so I parked there to get organized for the great changeroo, glanced up and saw a holiday baking mag I hadn't seen before. Made a mental note. Cleaned Poppy all up, then came back to the magazine. Sure enough, it was from December 2010 and hadn't been cleared from the rack. I flipped through for 20 seconds, long enough to get the gist and decide if there were enough appealing new ideas to buy it. There were. Bought it.

Came home and whipped up this indulgent loaf for "Breads & Spreads" night. I felt like going a bit over the top so I chopped my own dark chocolate instead of using chips, and pulled out the Nutella to make a drizzle.

It was fabulous, not too sweet but very flavorful, with all the right flavors of course. It actually won in a three-way tie on our first vote - we always have ties! - but I am not allowed to win (says me) since I am the host (and already had my own dough rising bucket.) But everything about this bread says WINNER!

*A note about hazelnuts. Some people call them filberts, depends on where you're from and/or when you were born. You can chop them up with their skin on, but the skin is papery and somewhat bitter, so here is a way to get some or all of them off. Toast them in a skillet over medium-low or on a baking sheet in a 350 oven for a few minutes, until fragrant and the skins start to crack. You will both see and hear them crackling. Then pour them onto half of a clean textured dishtowel (terry cloth or waffle weave are good.) Fold the other half of the towel over the nuts and rub them - the cracked skins will flake off pretty easily.Chocolate-Hazelnut Bread with Nutella Drizzle
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped hazelnuts
About 1/4 to 1/3 cup Nutella
Additional chopped hazelnuts, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan. Stack two baking sheets and put parchment on top, then bread pan. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fold in 1 cup chocolate pieces and 1 cup chopped hazelnuts. Pour batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.

3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

4. If desired, before serving, microwave 1/4 to 1/3 cup Nutella in 15-second increments, stirring in between, until melty. Spoon into a small plastic bag, snip off the corner, and drizzle over bread before serving. Sprinkle with additional hazelnuts if desired.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Baking magazine, December 2010

Hazelnut-Lemon Curd Kisses

Every year I eagerly await my December Cook's Country because it has the winner and several runners-up of their annual Christmas cookie contest. And I always find several winners of my own in there. Recipes from the contest are practically a sure thing - special, unusual, festive, delicious and always turn out as they should. This year I was a bit surprised by the winner - "Hazelnut-Lemon Curd Kisses." I thought, They're just thumbprints. What could be so special?

Which is of course why I had to try them - to find out for myself. And they are lovely, truly lovely, and seriously delicious. I think it's the toasted hazelnuts that make them stand out. We all know hazelnut is a flavor to cherish with chocolate, but it is special, homey and rich enough to stand on its own, and certainly pairs amazingly with sweet-tart lemon curd (you can use homemade or store bought.) So go ahead and whip up a batch. But you might want to double it. Two dozen just doesn't seem to be enough.

Hazelnut-Lemon Curd Kisses

1	cup all-purpose flour
3/4	cup hazelnuts , toasted
	Pinch salt
8	tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , softened
1/3	cup granulated sugar
1	large egg yolk
3/4	teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4	cup lemon curd
1/4	cup confectioners' sugar

1. MAKE DOUGH Adjust oven racks to upper- and low-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Process flour , hazelnuts, and salt in food processor until finely ground. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, ad mix until just combined.

2. SHAPE COOKIES Roll 1 tablespoon dough into 1-inch ball and place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using greased teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until just set, about 10 minutes.

3. FILL COOKIES Remove cookies from oven and gently reinforce existing indentation with teaspoon measure. Fill each dimple with 1/2 teaspoon lemon curd. Bake, rotating and switching sheets, until cookies are just beginning to brown around edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. (Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.)

Recipe from Cook's Country, December 2010

Chocolate-Hazelnut Marshmallow Bars (by Michelle)

Before you start making these, just ask yourself a few questions:

1) Do you LOVE chocolate?
2) Are you a fan of marshmallows?
3) Should nuts be their own, fabulous, food group?
4) Has your sweet tooth gone too long unsatisfied?

These bars are super sweet, so you will only need to eat them in small doses, but they are great. Because you are essentially making a chocolate bark, the bars need to stay refrigerated until you are serving them. In terms of goody platters, you will want to add them right before delivering the plate. I shook some cocoa and powdered sugar on the top for aesthetics as well.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Marshmallow Bars
1 10.5 ounce package tiny marshmallows
1 cup hazelnuts (filberts), toasted and coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup butter, softened
Powdered sugar (optional)

1. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan; set aside. In a very large bowl combine marshmallows and nuts; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir chocolate pieces, chocolate-hazelnut spread, cream, and butter over medium-low heat until smooth.

2. Add chocolate mixture to marshmallow mixture; stir to coat well. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan; pressing down lightly. Cover and chill fopr 30 minutes. (I found that after an hour it still wasn't "set" so I left it in the fridge over night. When I got it out the next day, it was perfect.)
3. Use foil to lift chilled mixture from pan. Cut into 18 bars. Cut each bar in half diagonally. If desired, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar.

Refrigerate up to 3 days. Keep chilled until ready to serve.Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Cookies

Hazelnut Blondies

So many things you can do with a jar of Nutella...

I happened to have one part-empty jar leftover from the Sour Cream Hazelnut Cake, and a church potluck coming up (always a church potluck coming up), so it was just natural to try Martha's little ode to the filbert. These are rich, nutty-buttery, and perfectly comfort-food sweet.

Needless to say, the tray came home empty.

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and chopped

1 heaping Tablespoon Nutella, plus more for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x11 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper; butter parchment. Get nuts toasting on a baking sheet - watch closely - just until fragrant, a few minutes.

2. Melt butter. Beat butter and sugar until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.

4. Beat eggs and vanilla into butter mixture. Add flour mixture; stir just until combined. Stir in nuts and Nutella (can be swirly.)

5. Press dough into pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 25 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve with additional Nutella. Blondies can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days. Makes about 2 dozen little ones.

Chocolate Chip Crunch Cake (New and Improved!)

When I was eating my second piece of Sour Cream Hazelnut Bundt Cake, I was thinking, This cake reminds me of something. Naturally, I had to have a third piece to be sure.

"Chocolate Chip Crunch Cake" was one of my favorite desserts growing up. My mom took a Pillsbury recipe around 1970, adjusted it a little to her taste, and voila - a Younce classic! It's a basic 2-egg white cake sprinkled with a topping of brown sugar, melted butter, nuts, chocolate chips and marshmallows. While the cake cooks, the brown sugar and marshmallows make a topping that is both gooey and crunchy, while the sugary nuts and chocolate chips create luscious sinkholes throughout, and you just pray to be lucky enough to get a few in your piece.You really live for the sinkholes because the rest of the cake is totally dry, and you need a very tall glass of milk with each piece. Until now, my friends.

I realized that the Sour Cream Bundt cake had just the right vanilla flavor, and a waaaay better texture - so dense and moist! - and would be the PERFECT replacement in this favorite of mine.

So here it is, my Mom's improved classic, improved upon. Whether my kids like it or not, now that it's perfect, this is going to continue to be passed on as a family classic. Yay - I have made a tradition!

Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (16 oz.) carton fat-free sour cream
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 T melted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, and/or hazelnuts)

3/4 cup chocolate chips

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9x13 cake pan with cooking spray.

2. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream; beat until well blended.

3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until well combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring just until combined. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.

4. Create topping. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, nuts, chocolate chips and marshmallows in a small bowl. Snitch a taste - this topping is delicious! Use your hand to sprinkle topping evenly over cake. Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Burn your tongue having your first bite because you just can't wait for it to cool.

Sour Cream Hazelnut Bundt Cake

What delectable deliciousness awaits you in this post! I don't even remember how I found this one online - sometimes I just start wandering around until something strikes me. I've been struck. Brought this to a friend's house for dinner. And brought my camera so I could take a picture after it had been cut into. My friends understand.

My usual concern about cakes made from scratch is that they might be dry - heaven knows I've made enough to justify the fear. But when I saw this cake has SIXTEEN OUNCES of sour cream in it, I thought we may just be onto something here. Plus I was enthralled with the concept of dusting the sprayed pan with breadcrumbs instead of flour - talk about a cake coming out easily!

So yes, the vanilla white cake was moist. Flavorful. Of perfect texture. Love it. And we haven't even gotten to the chocolate hazelnut ribbon rippling through the middle! Make it. Eat it. Enjoy it. No need for a special occasion. A half-empty jar of Nutella in your cupboard is occasion enough. But if you do have something coming up - someone's birthday, a holiday, Father's Day, ladies' brunch, high tea - it'll do for that, too.

It'll do, pig. It'll do.

Cooking spray

1 T dry breadcrumbs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 (16 oz.) carton fat-free sour cream

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted

2 T chocolate-hazelnut spread (Nutella)

Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

2. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream; beat until well blended.

3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until well combined. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring just until combined.

4. Spoon half of batter into prepared Bundt pan; sprinkle evenly with hazelnuts. Drop small spoonfuls of Nutella over nuts. Spoon remaining batter over chocolate spread; swirl batter using the tip of a knife. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes; remove cake from pan. Cool completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Recipe from Cooking Light, November 2004

VGP #10 Hazelnut Sacher Brownies

Sachertorte is a famous Austrian cake - it is layers of chocolate sponge cake spread between and on top with apricot jam, then coated with a thick layer of velvety chocolate. Not bad, right? These brownies have a closely-related European flair, with the addition of a hazelnut pastry on the bottom. They are totally sweet, totally rich and unbelievably fabulous! As always, use the best quality chocolate you can. And I bet raspberry jam would be a yummy variation!

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground

3/4 cup apricot preserves

1/2 cup butter

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted

1 oz. white chocolate, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil and grease it. Set aside.

2. For the crust, in a small bowl beat 1/2 cup soft butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on medium until combined. Beat in the 3/4 cup flour and ground nuts. Pat mixture into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack.

3. In a blender or food processor, cover and blend/process preserves until smooth. Spread pureed preserves over the baked crust and chill for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan cook and stir the 1/2 cup butter and unsweetened chocolate over med-low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes. In a medium mixing bowl beat the egg, egg yolk, granulated sugar, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed for 5 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Stir in the 1/2 cup flour. Carefully spread over chilled preserves layer.

5. Bake in the 350-degree oven for 20 minutes more. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Using the foil, lift the brownies out of the pan. Carefully peel the foil from the sides of the brownies. Spread the top with the melted semisweet chocolate. Drizzle white chocolate over semisweet layer. Swirl with a toothpick if desired. Let brownies stand while chocolate sets. Cut into bars. To store: Cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

VGP #1 Hazelnut Chewies

Welcome to Day 1 of your Virtual Goody Plate! (And Happy 16th Birthday to my oldest nephew Thompson!)

Every issue, Cook's Country magazine (which I LOVE) has a recipe contest and publishes the $1,000 first place winner and four runners up. The most recent (Dec/Jan) issue's contest was cookies, and while I was not at all tempted by the winner - "Fudgy Peanut Butter Mousse Cups" - all four runners up looked awesome.

The first one I tried was "Hazelnut Chewies" from Jennifer in Tucson, Arizona. The original recipe called for 1 tsp espresso powder so I substituted cocoa powder. Also, Jennifer must have a very sweet sweet tooth, because I found the final roll in powdered sugar overkill. I mean, they already have a whole freaking jar of Nutella in there. So while the white is pretty, I think it's optional, and they taste just as good or better without. This is a cookie for someone in the mood to enjoy the process - there's a little more toasting, chopping, chilling and rolling than more straightforward drop cookie recipes. But it's great for a rainy day and they are totally delish. Plus they ode to my firstborn.

3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups Nutella spread (a 13 oz. jar)
4 T unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso powder (or cocoa)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts, toasted and chopped fine
1 cup powdered sugar, optional

1. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on med-high speed, beat Nutella, butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, espresso (cocoa), and eggs and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and milk, and mix until just combined. Fold in 1/2 cup hazelnuts and refrigerate dough until firm, about 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 375. Place remaining hazelnuts in bowl. Add powdered sugar to another bowl. One at a time, roll dough into 1-inch balls, roll in hazelnuts, then roll in powdered sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake until set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on sheets, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies

(With)

(Without)