December | 2012 | Happy When Not Hungry

I’m back! I think my last post was on Halloween??? Sorry for the major vacation. I have a very good excuse though… we’re having a baby!!!! The hubby and I are very very excited and feel very blessed about our little bun-in-the-oven. I’m 18 weeks along and feel much better than I did during the first trimester. I was not baking at all and barely cooking throughout the majority of November. Since I’m in my 2nd trimester, I feel much better and have a little more pep-in-my-step (although I could always use more!).

I have been baking Christmas cookies throughout December, but I decided to hold off blogging about them because I’ve blogged about them before. However, I did try baking a new cookie this year called Hazelnut Shortbread. I’m always intimidated to bake shortbread because it calls for so much butter and sugar, but it’s Christmastime, so excessive calories are justified. I love anything hazelnut and if you’re like me, you’ll def love these cookies. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ground toasted hazelnuts
1 cup chocolate chips (you could use white chocolate as well)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour and hazelnuts; gradually add to butter mixture and mix well (dough will be sticky). Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4″ thickness. Use floured cookie cutter of choice and place on ungreased baking sheets, 1″ apart.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 1 minute before moving cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips until smooth. Drizzle over cookies and allow to set. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 3.5 dozen cookies