I started my cookie baking for the festive season early, this year. Almost every year I end up with a bunch of recipes that I worked on but are too late to post as it’s almost January by the time I can get to it. These Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies are simply amazing. Not only do they come together in minutes, they are egg free, require no chilling of the dough or any rolling out and so on. They are extremely addictive due to the nuttiness of the hazelnuts that are complemented by dark chocolate.

I have used molds to create the design but if you don’t have a mold, use could use a sillicone muffin pan or simply bake the biscuits and then dip them in chocolate. Or you could create thumbprint cookies by filling the centres with chocolate. The possibilities are endless with these Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies.
Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies
Makes 10-12 cookies

125 g (approx 1/2 cup +1 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60 g) icing/powdered sugar
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
3/4 cup (94 g) plain flour

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Spray your cookie mold with non stick spray. Alternately, line a baking sheet with baking paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the hazelnut meal and flour until combined and a dough is formed that is almost firm and can be rolled into balls easily. Add a little more flour if required.

Scoop 1 tbsp of dough and place in the hole of each mold...