Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Once again, I turned to Ellie of Kitchen Wench for a dessert recipe to cook. This time, I liked the sound of devilishly decandent dark chocolate biscuits. I chose to use hazelnuts in the biscuit.

These biscuits are indeed really rich and chocolaty. Using good chocolate is a must as that's the foundation of the biscuit. I like the texture of this biscuit, not too dry. The nuts really give it that extra oomph I think.


Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Ingredients
200g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
60g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium eggs
220g plain (all-purpose) flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
200g good quality chocolate chips

*Optional: 80g chopped nuts, walnuts or hazelnuts would work nicely here

1. Melt the chocolate bain-marie style, stirring occasionaly till melted and smooth. Set aside to slightly cool.

2. Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla till just combined, then beat in the luke-warm chocolate. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder, then slowly add to the chocolate mixture, mixing well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Add the choc chips (and nuts, if you’re using them) and mix till well combined.

4. Cover mixture with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 30 mins - 1 hour, till firm. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

5. Roll tablespoonfuls of mixture into balls and flatten slightly, and place 5 cm apart on a lined tray. Place bowl of mixture back in the fridge (and whenever not in immediate use) and bake tray for 15-18 minutes or till biscuits are mostly firm to the touch and slightly cracked on top.

6. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, and enjoy with a glass of cold milk. Stores in an airtight container for up to a week