Karen's Hazelnut Cookies

Below is a picture of my Grandma Mickey, my grandmother on my mom's side. Mickey is famous in our family for her perfect pies and crescent rolls.

She made snickerdoodles, ranger cookies, and more

She's a neat lady, and I think that's evident in this photo. Just look at her and you'll see it: she's strong, majestic, and a little silly. I snapped this photo at a party she threw last year for our family. When my Aunt Clair and her Jim, who live in Florida, came to visit Kansas, Mickey made dozens, dozens, and dozens of cookies, called everyone on the Helm/McClure side of the family, and we all had a dandy time.

Next weekend, she's throwing another "Calling All Cousins Cookie Party," and I can't wait. In fact, I'm not waiting at all. In fact, I made hazelnut cookies this afternoon to celebrate, and the event is almost a week away.

Karen, my friend who lives a mere 5 hours away in Texas, loves these hazelnut cookies with all her heart. She's their number-one fan. I brought some to her once on road trip, and though Karen is one of the healthiest, most fit people I know, she ate three cookies in one sitting. Such is their power. A fellow blogger on livejournal first shared this recipe with me, and now, I share it with you. Behold, hazelnut cookies with chocolate ganache:

Craggy, unassuming, and delectable

Hazelnut Cookies with Chocolate Centers
by Pamwheatfree @ livejournal.com

• 1 1/3 cup hazelnut flour (ground hazelnuts) or ground almonds
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cane sugar
  
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon cream
  

Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit. Beat egg slightly in bowl then add ground nuts and sugar. Incorporate the egg fully into the dry ingredients until you have a sticky/pasty dough. To make the cookies, roll pieces of dough into 1" balls, then create a small dent in the top of each sphere with your finger.

Melt the chocolate chips and cream together, 10 seconds at a time, using a microwave. Stir the chocolate and cream after every 10-second session until the chips are completely melted. Fill each cookie with a 1/2 tsp of chocolate ganache.*

Place the cookies on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper-covered sheet. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, but watch the cookies closely; they have a tendency to burn on the bottoms.

Makes 12 to 15 tasty, gluten-free cookies.


* Karen likes to call these treats "Nutella cookies," and you can certainly up the hazelnut ante by using Nutella instead of chocolate ganache to top the cookies.