Hazelnut Orange Slice and Bake Cookies
Happy January friends! I've been a little MIA as the holiday season was wrapping up and there was so much happening, but I'm back and I'm baking! These delicious hazelnutty orange-zesty cookies are the perfect crispy bite to my morning tea, on the slow winter mornings. My favorite kind of morning, with fog and cold air and warm socks on my feet and my littles learning their letters and playing on the rug. I am a cold-weather lover and thus, tea time is my jam! I hope you enjoy these as much as I am and, I promise, healthier recipes are coming. 😊
Hazelnut Orange Slice and Bake Cookies
Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients:
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped hazelnuts
Coarse sugar, for rolling
Melting chocolate, optional
Directions:
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the brown sugar and butter. (Can also be done with hand mixer) Beat until light and fluffy.
2. Add in the egg, beat until well incorporated. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts, slat, cinnamon, zest and juice of orange. Mix until well incorporated.
3. Add in the flour in 3 stages, mixing between each addition, just until incorporated. Do not over-mix.
4. Dump the cookie batter onto a sheet of plastic wrap, about 16 inches long. With clean hands, assemble into somewhat of a log, then wrap up in the plastic wrap and roll until a clean log of about 12 inches forms. Refrigerate for about 4 hours, up to a week. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Slice the cookies and roll the edges into coarse sugar (refrigerate remaining cookie log if you're doing this in batches). Bake for 10-14 minutes, just until the cookies have set. Remove from the oven and let them sit for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.
6. Extra step: If you will be dipping the cookies into chocolate, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 10-15 second increments, mixing in between until the chocolate is fully melted. Dip half of the cookie and let it set. Enjoy.
Adapted version of Sally's Baking Blog Cookies