Hazelnut Sugar Cookies

don't ya just hate it when something comes out of the oven you think it's all gone wrong?

well, that was the case with these...BUT...

THEY TURNED OUT FABULOUS!

my intention was a cookie with the look and texture of a snickerdoodle and the yummy taste of roasted hazelnuts. (i needed to use up some of the boatload of roasted hazelnuts i had from some other recipe i was working on.)  as you can see in the photos, the snickerdoodle effect did not take place.  they did not rise and fall with that fabulous earthquake looking crack on the top.  

i thought they were all wrong!  until first bite...YUM!

so this one turned out great...BUT all cookies are great right when they come out of the oven... 

will they stand the test of time?...YES...they were still delicious even a few days later.

sometimes, most of the time, i don't get to hand out my goodies until a day or two later.  they have to cool...get some sort of icing or decor...then off to the photo shoot...then they get packaged up and passed out.  quite often this does not all happen in a day.  i get side-tracked with something savory...things are flyin' all over my kitchen sometimes...you know how it is...

the photo below is from the first  tray that went in.  i did not flatten the cookie.  like a snickerdoodle i thought it would flatten and spread during cooking...when it didn't, i thought i had a failure on my hands.    this one was actually the funnest one to eat. 

 i dubbed it "THE HAZELNUT BOMB"

the very top photo is from the second tray that i flattened with the bottom of a glass.  this made for a larger looking cookie with a little more crunch.  both were fabulous and loved by all.  i think i still have some hazelnuts to use up so maybe anther batch will be in store for this weekend.

something is always a winner in this house when it gets made more than once.

ok...on with the recipe...

HAZELNUT SUGAR COOKIES...

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

optional...1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

(i like to put a sprinkle of spice into most everything)

3/4 cup roasted lightly salted hazelnuts, chopped fine

2 Tbsp white sugar

3-4 Tbsp raw sugar (or something like in photo)

preheat oven to 400 F

cream together butter, shortening and 1 1/2 cup sugar.  then add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla.  mix well.

in a separate bowl mix the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar

add dry ingredients to wet.  mix until just combined

add hazelnuts 'til just combined

in a small bowl mix the white sugar and the raw...set aside

shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into rounded walnut size balls

roll in sugar mixture and place on parchment lined cookie sheet

NOTE...you can choose to flatten them or not.  i suggest trying both.  i have photos of flattened and not flattened.  they are both fabulous

bake for 8-10 minutes depending on how large you make them.  bake until set, but not hard.  remove from baking sheet immediately.  i like to slide the parchment right onto my counter top, but that's me.

FOR THE ICING

mix this all together well in a small bowl.  a spoon works fine.  put it in a thick baggie and cut off the tip for an easy quick piping bag.  PS...don't cut your tip too big.

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk

2 tsp corn syrup

1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

a sprinkle of cinnamon

a few grates of fresh nutmeg