Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies filled with Nutella and Chewy Salted Caramel

I wiped my kitchen whiteboard calendar clean the other night so I could bring September into our lives. The school bell rang for us here over a month ago and we have been slowly getting back to some degree of normal. Last Saturday I took my daughter dress shopping for the homecoming dance and we picked up two adorable dresses because she like me has a problem choosing between two good things.

Both dresses had their merits and depending on her mood for the evening I could see both being absolutely perfect. I let her get both and told her we could take back the one she doesn't use. I also know her well enough to know that I just bought her two dresses. Now that they have a home together in her closet they aren't going anywhere.

When she was little I would have sworn she was a carbon copy of her dad, but now that she has gotten a little older I am starting to see nuances that remind me so much of myself. Take for example the cookies I wanted to make the other day, they had pretty much everything one could want in a cookie Hazelnuts + Nutella = Draw a little heart around the whole thing. But no, I stuck with my more is more mantra. If those are going to be a dream come true I couldn't help but believe that pushing them over the edge with the addition of Chewy Salted Caramel could only make them double hearty.

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies filled with Nutella and Chewy Salted Caramel

Hazelnut Shortbread:
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and ground
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

Also need: Small amount of Nutella about 1/2 of a cup.

Toast hazelnuts on a sheet pan in a 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes. Let cool.

Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes, add flour, salt, egg, and ground hazelnuts. Mix until combined.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll dough until 1/4” thick.

Cut cookies into rounds with a fluted circle or any cookie cutter of your choice. Gather scraps and roll again and use the rest of the dough.

Place cookies onto a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper an inch apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes in 350 degree F oven.

Let cool. I got about 24 cookies.

Chewy Salted Caramel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream (measured with a dry measuring cup instead of a liquid measuring cup)
Pinch flake sea salt

Combine sugar and water in a small heavy skillet and heat on medium high until the sugar in the pan is turning amber in color. Add the cream and whisk until combined, sprinkle a pinch of the salt over the top and let caramel cool.

Smear the bottom side of half of the cookies with a healthy amount of Nutella and smear the bottom half of the remainder of the cookies with an ample amount of caramel and combine them for a wild romp in cookie heaven. 

Don't say I didn't warn you though, once you go Nutella and Salted Caramel your psyche will be forever altered - forever (say that aloud in slow motion so you get the full effect).

Enjoy,

Gina

Hazelnut Whole Wheat Scones with Maple Glaze and "Whoops, My Bad"

Have you ever been stone cold busted with peanut butter buttercream on your face?  The other evening I posted a picture on my Facebook of the banana macarons I was working on and Azmina instantly busted me out by commenting, "Heh, I think it's awesome that your last post said you were going to focus on easy food and then you happened to whip these up."  (Whoops, my bad!)

You see Azmina is a skilled and seasoned lawyer.  Armed with the following evidence "Easy crap to make for dinner", she didn't waste any time zeroing in on my truth twisting and extracting a confession out of me in a mere 2.6 seconds.  It spewed off my tongue faster than kale chips, "Obviously, I'm a liar."

Luckily for me I wasn't in a real court or right about now I'd be trying to figure out how not to shower for infinity. Instead I was thinking of inviting Azmina over here to interrogate my teenage daughter and her friends, I was also hoping instead of her hourly rate we could possibly work out some sort of cookies for services rendered type of agreement.

Seriously, she is that good.  After she busted me I was so riddled with guilt I was on the phone with my mom and felt the need to confess all sorts of things; like the time Hot Dog Dude came tumbling down the stairs and all I could do was stand there laughing before I realized I should probably ask if he's okay.

Or that I made the most amazing scones the other day and I was going to blog about them but my cuticles hurt and that really messed up my typing and so instead I just went shoe shopping.

Toasted Hazelnut Whole Wheat Scones with Maple Glaze

Or that I made both peanut butter buttercream and black sesame buttercream fillings, both were good, but the peanut butter made me feel special in a way I've never felt before.  

I also told her that when I lay my eyes on a cute cake stand; I can't just walk away quietly, instead I have to bring it home and load it up with baked good. 

I'm going to b.a.l's soon (bakers and liars anonymous).

Enjoy,

Gina