Hazelnut Crescent Cookies
Posted: January 25th, 2011 | Joanna | | Tags: Kourabiethes, old school bakery cookie, powdered sugar cookies, toasted hazelnuts | 3 Comments »
Every Easter and Christmas our old landlord used to bring us up an assortment of delicious homemade old school bakery cookies. Some of them were dry and not particular good but we appreciated the thought tremendously. These cookies remind me of those powdered greek butter cookies, Kourabiethes, but prepared with ground toasted hazelnuts instead of almond. I still had a large bag of toasted hazelnuts unused from my butternut squash lasagna a few weeks ago and after a late night at work last week I was looking for a stress reliever, and thought baking of course. I came across this Bon Appetit recipe and was thrilled to see I already had all the ingredients already in my pantry.
Because I have a food processor, making the dough was really a cinch. I prepared it the night before and woke up early to form them into tiny horn shaped crescents. This recipe makes about 40 cookies but make sure you don’t bake two racks at a time. The first time I made these I tried to save time and use the top and bottom rack but sadly ended up burning the bottom batch. After the enthusiasm I received when I brought these into work last week, I knew Monday would mean another batch was needed, preferably 40 cookies this time. So I took my time and baked separately. These will definitely be one of my go-to gift cookies in the future, not too difficult and they impress like no other. A very classy cookie delicious with a tea and a good book. Just make sure you’re not wearing black when you eat them. They cookies ‘snow’ all over you, like it’s doing outside now!
Refridgerate the Dough at Least 2 hours
Toasting Hazelnuts
Hazelnut Crescent Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces) coarsely chopped toasted hazelnut (I didn’t chop these, I let the food processor do that)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, each stick cut into 8 pieces
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon (scant) cinnamon
Preparation
-
Place 1/2 cup sugar, nuts, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in processor. Using on/off turns, process until nuts are finely ground. Add butter in 4 additions, processing to blend after each addition. Add almond extract; process to blend. Add flour and cinnamon. Using on/off turns, process until dough comes together. Transfer to work surface. Form dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
-
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven**; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Measure 1 tablespoon dough; form into ball, then roll into 2 1/2-inch-long log, tapering slightly at both ends. Gently bend into crescent shape. (If dough is very cold, it may form cracks; smooth over cracks before continuing.) Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. **I baked these both on the top rack separately. I found in my small oven the bottom cookies burned when I tried both at once.
-
Bake cookies until slightly puffed and edges turn golden brown, about 20 minutes. Sift remaining 1 cup sugar over hot cookies. Cool completely on sheets on rack. Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar remaining on sheets. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.
hi joanna, I love these cookies, but usually only see them around the holidays. Are these the same as mexican wedding cookies? Do you think they ship well? Maybe I could get somebody to make me some.
I’m on it, Mum!
Yum! Those looks so delicious and soft! I love hazelnuts!