On the second day of Christmas … my true love gave to me … Mocha Java Hazelnut Cookies.
Every Christmas cookie bake-a-thon should include at least one amazing chocolate cookie. Not only does chocolate add a festive and luxurious note to any celebration, it actually elevates mood and feelings of good cheer. As if this were not enough advantage for a single food source, chocolate is also the richest source of antioxidants known. Imagine! Cookies that bless the mind AND the body.
Fortunately, small-batch, single origin, chocolate maker extraordinaire, Shawn Askinosie, of Missouri-based Askinosie Chocolate, recently graced me with a selection of his legendary chocolates, including his single origin, unsweetened, non-alkalized natural cocoa powder (Soconusco Mexico). If there is brighter, more lush, or more balanced cocoa powder on this earth, I haven’t discovered it yet. (You can follow Shawn’s chocolate adventures on Twitter @askinosie.)
That surprise gift got me thinking about the one chocolate cookie I would create for this year’s Starry Night collection. It had to be all about the chocolate but with intriguing counterpoints. Espresso came to mind instantly, followed by toasted hazelnuts, then cayenne for a little spicy heat, then cardamom for smoky, earthy spice, and finally brown sugar for a support note of caramel.
This is the cookie I intend to leave by the fireplace for Santa, who will hopefully linger awhile and savor each bite.
Mocha Java Hazelnut Cookies
These delectable little morsels are for adult palates, with their intense espresso and dark chocolate flavor combination, enlivened with a generous dose of cayenne, a hint of smoky cardamom, and fragrant, crunchy toasted hazelnuts. Sometimes I make them even spicier, but I will leave that to your discretion. Short and crisp, these are wonderful with afternoon coffee or tea or as an adjunct to a creamy dessert, such as a mousse, panna cotta, or ice cream.
2¼ cups King Arthur’s unbleached, all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened, non-alkalized, premium cocoa
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1½ cups unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (3 sticks)
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1½ teaspoons Starbucks Via Ready Brew Instant Italian Roast Coffee, or other espresso powder, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups chopped toasted skinned hazelnuts
Finishing
2 egg whites beaten lightly with 2 teaspoons cold water
¾ cup finely chopped hazelnuts
clear sprinkles, optional
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, cayenne, cardamom, and salt together. Reserve.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly, about 3 minutes.
- Add dissolved espresso and vanilla, and incorporate.
- Add the flour mixture and mix very briefly, only until incorporated.
- Mix in the chopped hazelnuts.
- Using a #70 scoop (1 tablespoon) with a release mechanism, scoop balls of dough, leveling each ball with the edges of the scoop. (Thus each ball will have one flat surface.)
- You can arrange the dough balls closely together on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for as long as a couple of days, or proceed immediately to baking.
- Coat a baking sheet lightly with vegetable spray. Arrange 18 cookie balls, flat sides down, 2 inches apart, on the baking sheet. (These cookies don’t spread very much.)
- Lay a sheet of waxed paper over the cookies and using a meat pounder or other heavy, flat object, gently flatten each cookie ball to a ¼-inch thickness.
- Brush the tops of the cookies with egg white and sprinkle on a small amount of the remaining finely chopped hazelnuts. Press the nuts into the cookie and then brush again with egg white. Sprinkle with clear sprinkles.
- Bake at 350º for 6-8 minutes. Watch closely to prevent cookies from over-browning. It is difficult to tell when these cookies are done, because color is not a cue.
- Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks.
- When completely cool, store in air-tight cookie tins in a cool, dry location.
These cookies improve with age and will keep, if stored properly, for many weeks. You can also freeze them.
Makes about 7 dozen small-to-medium cookies.
There’s More:
To follow along as we bake our way through this year’s cookie collection, see the kickoff post, Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Starry Night.
Also, check out last year’s collection, Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Deck the Halls.
Hey there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your articles. Thank you so much!
Thank you for your reply. I will try again decreasing the flour and see if that helps. Happy T Day to you and yours.
Thank you for your replay. I will try again decreasing the flour and see if that helps. Happy T Day to you and yours.
This is a wonderfully different recipe. I enjoy exploring unique food experiences and was looking for a fun and sophisticated cookie. I have chosen several of your other cookie recipes to try this year as well. Having said that, I need some direction. I am having a bit of trouble with the texture. They seem a bit dry and crumbly and not crisp after baking. I used all the recommended ingredients and measured carefully. It was very difficult to incorporate the dry ingredients, but succeeded and the cookies formed balls and held their shape well. As mentioned in the recipe, it is hard to tell when they are actually done. I thought maybe I overcooked the first batch, but when I pulled the next ones out a bit early, they were too doughy. I do live in an extremely dry climate and wondered if that might have something to do with my troubles. Do you have any suggestions and what do these little morsels of yumminess FEEL like when they are ready to come out of the oven. Thank you so much.
Shelley, thank you for the feedback. I’m not sure what is happening with your cookies. They should be crunchy and crisp. I wish I could see your dough. It should not be difficult to mix in the dry ingredients. Would you like to experiment and decrease the flour by 1/4-1/2 cup? The proportion does seem high to me as I revisit the recipe. I will try to find time after Thanksgiving to retest these and will post any changes to the original recipe. Wishing you and yours a happy Thanksgiving! …Susan
OMG…these are sooooo good! I was really apprehensive because of the cardamom. It’s a very odd spice. Kinda reminded me of saw dust! However, they are just delicious! The only negative I have is the pre baking prep! I found it best to egg wash the cookies first, drop them into the nuts and then sprinkle the sugar. The other way didn’t work very well for me because the nuts kept getting brushed off. Will do again! Think I may add just a touch more cayanne next time! :p)
Thank you Cindy! When I saw your comment about “pre baking”, I rushed to the recipe to see if I had lost my mind. I was relieved to see that I didn’t specify that. 🙂 Your method for getting the nuts to adhere to the cookie sounds spot on though. Certainly a good alternative if my method is causing problems for folks. Thanks for suggesting it. And LOL on the cayenne amount. Truth be told, I always put more cayenne or pepper into cookies than I dare specify for a general audience. I like them cookies to burn baby! 🙂
Can i substitue chilli for the cayenne? I’ve never heard of in before where i stay or it’s that same thing. =D
Cayenne is a very hot red chile. You can substiture another hot chile powder if you like. It should work just fine. 🙂
Stacey, LOL! I do use egg yolks in some of the shortbread cookie formulations. It works beautifully but changes the texture of the finished cookie somewhat. In general, the cookies are not quite as buttery tasting with the egg yolks, are more tender, and a bit less crisp when shaped the way described in the Mocha Java Hazelnut Cookies. Try it without egg yolks next time, and see if you prefer one texture over the other. Happy Baking!
I made them last night, with the egg yolks, and they were delicious! Now, I wonder how they would have turned out without them. 😉
Good catch, Molly! I checked my testing notes for this cookie and no egg yolks are used. I corrected the recipe. Thanks! …Susan
The recipe says to add egg yolks but there are no egg yolks listed in the ingredients. Please clarify!
The ingredient list has cardamom in it, while the instructions include chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, and orange oil. Can you clarify which things we should use? Thanks!
Wow, good catch, Stacy, thank you! Would you believe I am a senior editorial manager during the day? But as the saying goes in the publishing biz, “Even an editor needs an editor for her own writing. 🙂 The recipe is now corrected. I had to go back to my original notes and then actually taste the cookie again to make sure. YUM! No cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, or orange oil in this particular recipe. Just cayenne, cardamom, salt, espresso, and vanilla. Happy baking!
gorgeous flavors!! Wish I could pick up some for myself!
.-= Soma´s last blog ..Liquor soaked Chocolate Finger =-.