Hazelnut Chocolate Stars Recipes

HAZELNUT-CHOCOLATE STARS

Steps:

• 1. Finely chop hazelnuts in a food processor; remove to a bowl. Finely chop chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon flour in food processor; add to the nuts. Set aside.
• 2. Sift the 1 1/3 cups of flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• 3. Cream butter and brown sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until well combined.
• 4. Add the flour mixture to the butter in thirds, beating well after each addition. Add the hazelnut-chocolate chip mixture, using a wooden spoon and mixing until the dough is well combined.
• 5. Form the dough into three flat disks, dusting with a little flour, if necessary, to prevent sticking; wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.
• 6. Remove one disk from the refrigerator and roll on a lightly floured work surface into an 11-inch circle, 1/4-inch thick. Cut out stars using a star-shaped cookie cutter. (You may use different sizes of stars for variety.) Save the scraps and reform into a disk. Chill the scraps slightly before rolling out and cutting. Repeat with other disks.
• 7. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the stars on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time until the cookies are brown around the edges, about 7 to 8 minutes. Cool cookies on a rack.
• 8. Prepare apricot filling: Place all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Puree this mixture in the food processor until smooth. Allow the filling to cool completely before filling the cookies. (Filling may be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated.)
• 9. Fill the cookies just before serving, if possible, so they stay crisp: Spread a thin layer of the filling on the bottom side of one star and sandwich with another, bottom-side facing the filling.

HAZELNUT SABLE STARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat butter in large bowl until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in yolks and vanilla. Beat in flour and salt. Stir in nuts. Transfer dough to work surface. Flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; freeze until cold, about 10 minutes.
• Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/3-inch thickness. Using 2- to 3-inch star cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Transfer to baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps; reroll dough and cut out additional cookies. Bake cookies until pale golden (rotate baking sheets after 15 minutes), about 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to rack; cool.
• Spoon chocolate into small plastic bag. Cut off tip from 1 bottom corner of bag to allow small ribbon of chocolate to come out. Drizzle chocolate over cookies. Let cookies stand until chocolate is set. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.)