These Espresso, Hazelnut & Nutella Thumbprint Cookies are well dressed cookies that exquisitely combine Nutella, coffee, extra hazelnut & white chocolate.
Grease & line several baking sheets with baking parchment
Next, put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and mix with electric beaters until pale and fluffy
Add the espresso powder, vanilla extract, ground hazelnuts and the egg. Using the beaters mix until everything is incorporated
Sift the flour into the bowl. Using a large, metal spoon, fold in the flour in until thoroughly combined
Form around 50 balls from the dough (each ball should weigh approx. 15g). Place the balls onto the baking sheets, leaving around 4cm between each ball (they spread a little during cooking)
Using your little finger, the end of a wooden spoon or the thumb of a small child :) make a deep hole in the centre of each ball. You may need to dip the utensil into some flour to prevent it sticking to the dough
Put the baking sheets into the fridge to chill for 11/2-2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ GM 4
At the end of the chill time, bake the cookies for around 12 minutes until beginning to turn golden
Allow to cool on the tray for a moment, then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely
Fill the hole with Nutella. You can either carefully spoon the Nutella in, using a very small spoon, or, like me, pipe it in for a neater finish.
(optional) Gently melt the white chocolate then drizzle it over the filled cookies. Allow the chocolate to set
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week
Notes
Ground hazelnuts are difficult to come by in the shops. You can make your own by blitzing them in a food processor or a coffee grinder. Go steady as it is easy to overdo it and end up with a clumpy, moist mass of ground nuts. If your processor has a pulse setting, then pulse for a second, then stop, assess the progress and pulse again if necessary. I had the best results when I processed the nuts in three batches of 25g in my coffee grinder. Aim for the consistency of ground almonds.