Hazelnut and chocolate cookies

They are a bit erratic to make as the dough likes to crack when formed into a thumbprint cookie, and the holes like to rise up while baking, but with a bit of help from a spoon after baking, you get the holes just perfect to hold enough chocolate. And then, it is just about the pleasure of eating that perfect and festive combination of hazelnuts and milk chocolate.


250 g butter, room temperature
100 g golden caster sugar
1/2 vanilla pod, seeds only
1/2 tsp cardamom
zest of 1 organic orange
290 g all-purpose flour + for dusting
100 g hazelnut flour
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp orange blossom water (optional, but I love it)
vanilla sugar for dusting

filling:
80 g sweet cream 
100 g milk choco, pieces
30 g butter


Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, flours, salt, orange blossom water, and work into a dough in a bowl. The trick here is to knead as little as possible (that will keep them very light and airy), but you need the dough to stay together. When it holds its shape, leave it covered in a cold place for 1-2 hours.

Heat the oven to 180° C. Line a pan with baking paper. Take the dough out, tear off a small piece (I make them 18 g heavy), and form into a ball.  Place on a baking sheet and make a hole in the middle (with a thumb or perfectly round spoon). Try to make it as deep as possible, but look carefully at the sides, as when they crack, try to press them together. 

Continuing with the rest of the dough, leaving 3 cm between cookies (I bake them in 1-2 pans). Bake in the middle of the oven for around 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and if the middles have risen very much, use the back of the spoon to press, then slowly back in. Leave to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely. 

In a kettle, add cream and warm until the first bubble appears. Take off the heat, add chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute. Mix until the chocolate has melted. Add butter and mix in. Pour into a bowl and let it cool a bit. 

When cookies are cool, fill them with the chocolate. Leave them as they are or decorate.