Cocoa and hazelnuts cookies - Biscotti al cacao e nocciole - Keksi s kakaom i lješnjacima

This year arrived to its end...only few days left and it will be over for good! I bet you are all thinking of how good, or bad it was. Well, I'm doing some similar thinking, but I don't want to make plans or firm projects for the new year. Nowadays it makes me unquiet, what if these plans turn to be wrong, or something goes in bad direction, it happens sometime...I don't want things to go wrong anymore, I've decided to live my life day be day, I will change my plans and my thinking each time it will be better then persecuting old ideas. Every new and fresh idea means new beginning and it's fantastic!

But before the new year begins you still have time for last baking and some more cookies will never be too much. You can offer them to your guests, or you can still make some eatable gifts for New Year's eve.  

Hurry up, but don't eat them all by yourself. These cookies are so tasty and remain friable for days. All flavours are well mixed and cocoa flavour doesn't cover the taste of hazelnuts. I like them very much!

COCOA AND HAZELNUTS COOKIES

150 gr flour

50 gr ground hazelnuts + some more chopped in crumbles (homemade!)

20 gr cocoa powder without sugar

100 gr cold butter cut in pieces

50 gr icing sugar

2 egg yolks (or 1 entire egg)

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon of vanilla-flavored sugar (homemade)

Toast hazelnuts for about 20-30 minutes at 150°C in the oven and once cooled down eliminate the thin skin (it's easy to do it, just scrub the hazelnuts with your hands and no worries if you don’t eliminate it completely). Ground the hazelnuts in the kitchen grinder.

Combine all ingredients and knead quickly until you get smooth dough. Leave the dough to rest half an hour in refrigerator.

Preheat the oven, cover the baking tray with parchment, roll the dough 4-5mm thick and cut your cookies with cooky cutters.
Place cookies on the parchment, dust cookies with chopped hazelnuts crumbles and bake in preheated oven about 7-10 minutes (depend of the oven!)

BISCOTTI AL CACAO E NOCCIOLE

150 gr di farina “00”

50 gr di nocciole tritate + granella di nocciole (fatta in casa!)

20 gr di cacao amaro in polvere

100 gr di burro freddo tagliato a pezzetti

50 gr di zucchero a velo

2 tuorli d’uovo (oppure 1 uovo intero)

un pizzico di sale

1 cucchiaio di zucchero vanigliato (fatto in casa)

Tostare le nocciole per circa 20-30 minuti a 150°C nel forno e una volta raffreddate eliminare la sottile pellicina (e facile toglierla strofinando le nocciole con le mani e nessun problema se ne rimane un po’). Tritare le nocciole nel tritatutto.

Unire tutti gli ingredienti e impastare velocemente fino ad ottenere un’impasto liscio. Far riposare l’impasto nel frigorifero per una mezz’oretta.

Preriscaldare il forno a 180°C, coprire la teglia con  della carta forno, stendere l’impasto spesso 4-5mm e ritagliare i biscotti con i tagliabiscotti.

Sistemare i biscotti sulla carta forno, cospargerli con la granella di nocciole e cuocerli nel forno già caldo circa 7-10 minuti (dipende dal forno!)

KEKSI S KAKAOM I LJEŠNJACIMA

150 gr mekog brašna

50 gr mljevenih lješnjaka + smrvljenih lješnjaka (napravite sami!)

20 gr gorkog kakaa u prahu

100 gr hladnog maslaca narezanog na komadiće

50 gr šećera u prahu

2 žutanjka (ili 1 cijelo jaje)

prstohvat soli

1 žlica šećera u prahu s aromom vanilije (napravite sami)

Tostirati lješnjake oko 20-30 minuta u pećnici na 150°C i kad se ohlade odstranite tanku kožicu (nije problem ako ne odstranite svu kožicu, ali lako se skida, dovoljno je protrljati lješnjake rukama). Samljeti lješnjake u blenderu.

Zamijesiti tijesto od svih sastojaka da dobijete glatko tijesto. Brzo mijesite i ostavite da tijesto odmara u hladnjaku oko pola sata.

Zagrijati pećnicu na 180°C, prehriti pleh za pečenje masnim papirom, razvaljati tijesto na 4-5mm debljine i rezati kekse s rezačima za kekse.

Poslagati kekse na masni papir, posuti po njima mrvice lješnjaka i peći u zagrijanoj pećnici oko 7-10 minuta (ovisi o pećnici!)