SHF #11: Coffee hazelnut cookies with dark chocolate chunks

The smell of freshly ground coffee gets me everytime. That first whiff of roasted coffee beans draws me spellbound into its nutty, sweet embrace. I am under its spell each morning. Resistance is futile.

So yes, consider me delighted when coffee was announced as the latest theme for Sugar High Friday. I flicked through the recipe books, I drooled, and I awoke from a caffeine-infused reverie with inspiration.

I ended up tweaking (ok, you say b@stardising) Donna Hay's recipe for double choc cookies, which I've have the pleasure of consuming before (courtesy of our resident office baker). These are soft chunky cookies which almost have the texture of brownies. I changed the recipe by removing the cocoa and substituting it with coffee and hmm... let's see, yes, ground hazelnuts. And extra dark chocolate. Mmm...

Coffee hazelnut cookies with dark chocolate chunks
Based on Donna Hay's double choc cookies from Modern Classics Book 2

250g butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
6 teaspoons instant coffee (I heart coffee!)
2 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup ground hazelnuts
250g dark chocolate, broken into chunks

Cream butter and sugar.
Add the eggs gradually and beat well.
Dissolve coffee in a tablespoon of hot water and add to mixture.
Add flour, baking powder, hazelnuts and chocolate and mix well.
Place large tablespoonfuls of mixture onto baking trays lined with baking paper (I just used greaseproof with no problem). Ensure there is plenty of room between mounds to allow for spreading (I did about five per tray).
Bake at 150C for 20-25 minutes (depending on how soft/crispy you like your cookie).

TIPS: The baking / greaseproof paper is essential as these are very buttery. For some reason I decided to skip this step with the first batch and just greased a tray. I ended up with a giant cookie as they all melded into one! Use the paper. You don't need to grease it. It gives the cookies something to grip onto. But hey, if I had just followed the recipe in the first place...

THE TASTE-TEST: The aroma of these babies as you open the cookie jar is sensational. Mmm... and the house smelled great as these were baking in the oven.

These have only a slight crisp edge to them. I deliberately underbaked them for a soft cookie you can sink your teeth into. The coffee taste is great, but unfortunately you can't quite taste the hazelnuts. However I think the texture is slightly different with the presence of the ground hazelnuts (slightly more mealy and moist). Maybe next time I would incorporate whole roasted hazelnuts, or even eliminate them completely.

The look of these is definitely organic and homemade. Shaping these is impossible but that's part of the charm. They do look inviting when the chocolate shards protrude out the top of the cookie dome too.

And yes, a true coffee purist would have used espresso coffee, not instant. But I think I'd much rather drink that than eat it.

Check out the full wrap-up of caffeinated entries by Ron, coming soon to loveSicily.