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Hazelnut Thumbprints

Hazelnut Thumbprints

To toast the nuts for these cookies, place them on a rimmed baking sheet in an oven heated to 350 degrees for 10 minutes; then transfer them to a clean kitchen towel and rub them until the skins come off. Grind them in a food processor.

Holiday Cookies 2005, Special Issue Holiday 2005 http://www.marthastewart.com/339331/hazelnut-thumbprints
3.42857
Rated
68.5714100(24)24
  • Yield Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
    • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 large egg, separated, each part lightly beaten
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
    • 1/2 cup toasted skinned hazelnuts, ground
    • Strawberry jam, for filling

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put butter and 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and vanilla, and mix well. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and salt, and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.
  2. Stir together toasted hazelnuts and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls; dip balls in egg white, then in hazelnut-sugar mixture. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press down center of each ball with your thumb. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; press down centers again with the end of a wooden spoon. Return to oven. Bake cookies until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes more. Let cool slightly on sheets on wire racks. Fill each center with jam.

Cook's Note

Cookies can be stored in a single layer in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

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