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Hazelnut Praline and Latte Cream Shortbread These are some melt-in-your-mouth buttery shortbread cookies that you will want to make on repeat during the holiday season. These cookies are tender and a little crunchy. Hazelnut praline gets turned into a powder and folded into a classic slice-and-bake shortbread cookie. You can serve the shortbread as is, but I like to make cookie sandwiches with a little bit of latte cream. A few notes before you begin. - When making caramel, never leave your pot unattended. This is a very small amount of sugar that will quickly burn if you turn your back. Don’t stir the caramel while cooking, simply swirl the pan around to redistribute heat and evenly spread the caramel as it cooks. As always, be careful not to burn yourself with the hot caramel. - If you don’t have hazelnuts, you can make it with pecans, peanuts or even pistachios, but make sure you lightly toast them ahead of time. - If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop the hazelnut praline by hand. You want small chunks and some powdery bits. - Shortbread is meant to be tender so don’t overbake it. As soon as you see the edges turning golden brown, it should be ready. - I haven’t tested it without the egg yolk, but I think you can easily replace it with 20 grams of applesauce. - Even though I have room for two baking sheets in my oven, I like to bake one at a time. Even when I rotate the pans halfway through, I feel like they don’t bake evenly, so I rather bake one at a time. But if course, you can put both pans in the oven at once, and rotate halfway through baking. - For the latte cream, use instant espresso or coffee powder and not ground coffee - they are different things. Instant espresso or coffee powder dissolve into the milk without leaving any granules. - I decorated the cookies with a piece of hazelnut caramel, but you don’t have to. Make the same caramel you did for the praline. Place half hazelnut pieces on a fork, dip into the caramel, lift out of the caramel, and place on a piece of parchment to cool completely. Add a small amount of the latte cream on top of the shortbread (it will serve as glue) and place the cooled candied hazelnut on top. - The cookies get a bit softer an hour after filling them and that is, in my opinion, peak point. The shortbread mellows out and blends a bit with the filling making them very, very tender. Makes about 15 cookies For the hazelnut praline 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (75 g) granulated sugar 1 tablespoon (10 g) water 1 teaspoon (4 g) lemon juice 1/2 cup (75 g) toasted and skinned hazelnuts For the shortbread 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter or vegan butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped 1 large egg yolk 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (150 g) superfine brown rice flour 3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons (100 g) tapioca starch 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt Hazelnut praline, finely ground For the latte cream filling 2 tablespoons (30 g) whole milk or vegan milk 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder 1/2 cup (110 g) unsalted butter or vegan butter, at room temperature 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract · Make the hazelnut praline. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan and stir lightly to wet all the sugar. If there are any large sugar lumps on the side of the pan, brush them down with a wet pastry brush. Cook the sugar over medium high heat until it turns into an amber-colored caramel. You can swirl the pan around if some parts begin to caramelize sooner and to distribute the heat throughout the sugar mixture, but don’t stir. Once you see the caramel is a light amber color, watch it carefully as it will burn quickly. Remove pan from heat once the caramel is amber color and stir in the hazelnuts to coat evenly in the caramel. Pour over the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly into a thin layer. Be careful as the caramel will be very hot. Let the mixture cool completely until hardened, about 15 minutes. · Make the hazelnut praline powder. Once the hazelnut caramel is cooled, break into pieces and transfer to a food processor and pulverize into a powder, about 10 to 12 pulses. Set aside. You can make this hazelnut praline 3 days in advance and store it, at room temperature, in an airtight container. · Make the shortbread. Combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla seeds in the bowl of a stand mixer. Attach paddle and beat together, over medium speed, until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolk and beat together until smooth. In a medium bowl, stir together the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and salt. Add into the butter mixture and beat together until completely incorporated. Add the hazelnut praline powder and mix together. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Transfer each half to a piece of parchment and roll into a log that is approximately 10 inches long and 1 1/4 inch in diameter. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. · Bake the shortbread. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the logs of dough into 1/4-inch thick disks. Place them on the baking sheets leaving 1 inch in between cookies (they don’t spread much so fit as many as you can in each pan). Bake the shortbread for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely in the pan. You can bake the shortbread and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. · Make the latte cream filling. Heat the milk in a small saucepan and whisk the instant espresso powder into it. Set aside until completely cooled. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter over medium speed until light, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, a heaping tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and cooled coffee mixture. Turn speed to high and beat for one minute until light and fluffy. · Assemble the cookies. Spread 2 teaspoons of latte cream on a shortbread cookie and top with another creating a sandwich. Fill all the cookies. (see headnote about adding candied hazelnut on top). Store the cookies at room temperature for a day and then, refrigerate for up to 3 days.
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