September 26, 2014

Hazelnut Orange Thumbprint Cookies

State Fair of Texas Winner

Delightful. These cookies are downright delightful.  All of the flavors complement each other so well. My family and I loved them so much that we let ourselves eat them with breakfast! (Hey, they have jam on them.)

Mary Ehrenberger took home the blue ribbon for these cookies at the 2013 State Fair of Texas. It’s easy to see why. The cookies are simple to make, taste fantastic, and are beautiful. The apricot jam and mandarin orange filling adds color and just the right amount of sweetness. Make sure to save any extra filling. We’ve been putting the extra on toast and English muffins in the morning and for snack time. I also had fun making the cookies, especially when it came time to dip the cookies in the melted chocolate and chopped hazelnuts.

Follow the recipe below to try the cookies out for yourself. And go ahead enjoy them any time of day!

-Crystal

 

Hazelnut Orange Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup Gold Medal All-Purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 (15 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

1/2 cup apricot jam

1 cup chocolate chips, melted

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour and salt and set aside. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugar and blend again until fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla, blending well to incorporate. Add flour mixture and beat until blended. Mix in nuts and mini chocolate chips to form a ball of dough. Pat dry the mandarin oranges, cut into pieces, mix them with the apricot jam, and set aside.

Take teaspoon size portions of the dough and roll in balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Space them out as they grow when baking. Indent the top of each cookie with the back of a small round measuring spoon. Bake for about 10 minutes. Repeat the indentations in cookie tops while still hot. Spoon a mandarin orange segment with some jam into indentations. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until golden brown on rims of cookies. Cool on wire racks. Dip cookie bottoms in melted chocolate, then into hazelnuts. Place on wax paper lined baking sheets and allow chocolate to harden before eating.

-Recipe from Mary, 2013 State Fair of Texas, Gold Medal Flour Scratch Bakers Cookie Challenge