Chocolate Hazelnut Snowballs

Have not tried this but sounds good

Chocolate Hazelnut Snowballs







INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup toasted whole hazelnuts plus 24 peeled
6 tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder such as Droste or Hershey's European Dutch
1/4 lb (1 stick) softened unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sifted sugar (for coating cookies)





PREPARATION:

1. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Put the ¾ cup hazelnuts and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process with a few short bursts to combine the ingredients. Process about 1 minute until the hazelnuts are finely ground. Set aside.

3. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Set aside.

4. Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on low speed for 15 seconds. Add the remaining 5 tablespoons granulated sugar and beat on medium speed for 1 minute until the mixture looks smooth. Mix in the vanilla. Decrease the speed to low and mix in the nut mixture. Add the flour mixture. Mix just until it is incorporated and a soft dough forms. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl and the beaters during the mixing. Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into 1-inch balls. Place them about 1½ inches apart on the baking sheet. Press a whole hazelnut gently into the center of each cookie.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes. The cookies will flatten slightly, and the tops will have tiny cracks and feel firm to the touch. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies become crisp as they cool. Roll each cookie gently in powdered sugar to coat it completely. Makes 24 cookies.

6. Good Advice: Grinding the nuts with some sugar in a food processor allows them to become finely ground without forming a paste.

7. Doubling the Recipe: Double the ingredients.

8. To Freeze: Place the bottoms of 2 cookies together and wrap them in plastic wrap. Put the wrapped cookies in a metal or plastic freezer container and cover tightly. Label with date and contents. Freeze up to 2 months. To serve, remove as many cookies from the freezer as needed and defrost the wrapped cookies at room temperature. Serve within 3 days.