So remember that we joined the olive oil of the month club? They also sent us this recipe, which I knew we had to try right away. But we spent the day making amazing fresh pasta, and had no time for silly dessert. So the next Sunday, I whipped these up really quickly, and Steph shaped and baked them while I bathed Richie and put him to bed. Teamwork! They were actually very simple to make, as long as you have a food processor and microplane…right now I take those tools for granted, but it wasn’t long ago that those were not in my kitchen (Mom has no kitchen gadgets!).These cookies were great! Hazelnuts with a hint of orange flavor. We just loved them and devoured all of them. I can’t believe they were so easy to make.
One of the great things about cookies like this is the ability to make a log, cut them up, and freeze them! You know how we love stocking my freezer with goodies. And I forgot to tell you the best part. They’re pareve! Because they’re made with olive oil (of the month, of course). So if you have some dough in the freezer and you have last minute shabbat guests, just stick them in the oven and that’s it!
Hazelnut Cookies, from Italian Olive Oil of the Month:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups hazelnuts, peeled
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 eggs
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Place hazelnuts in the food processor and process until chopped into small piece.
2. In a medium bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder, and hazelnuts.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add olive oil, sugar, eggs, and zest.
4. With the mixer on slow, slowly add the dry mix and mix until it comes together. It will be sticky.
5. Transfer the dough to a piece of wax or parchment paper and use it to roll the dough into a log. Roll it out so that it’s about 2 inches thick and about a foot long. It will be hard to do, so don’t worry if it ‘s not perfect. My cookies were more square than round. I embraced that.
6. Place in freezer for at least 2 hours, to harden.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Remove from freezer and cut cookies into 1/4 inch pieces.
9. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for ten minutes, rotating the sheets halfway between.
10. Remove from oven and let cool on racks until completely cool. Serve dipped in some coffee, yum!
