Hazelnut Shortbread

Recipe modified from: Gorgeous Biscuits (Periplus Mini Cookbooks)

A short post here about one of my latest baking therapy project - Hazelnut Shortbread!

Was scanning through the recipes in one of those Cold Storage-bought cookbooks I acquired eons ago and found one that featured ingredients that I could easily pull out from my current stash of baking ammo.

For sloths who find grinding raw hazelnuts (toast + process) a chore, ground hazelnut could easily be bought from Phoon Huat ($6+ for 250g).  I had packet of it sitting in the drawer but I can't remember what I bought it for though...

No thanks to our sunny tropical weather.. do refrigerate the biscuits after coating them with chocolate, for best results! Remind the lucky souls who receive your baked products to stick them in the fridge too :)

 Makes: 22


Ingredients:
100g ground hazlenuts
150g butter (cubed and slightly softened)
80g soft brown sugar
185g sifted plain flour
100g dark chocolate, chopped
15g vegetable shortening

Method:
1. Preheat oven to moderate 180 dC. Bake the hazelnut powder for about 5 min (you might want to prepare this prior) and let it cool.
2. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper (or lightly grease them with butter)
3. Beat butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add hazelnuts and beat briefly.
4. Add sifted flour and mix to a soft dough.
5. Roll 2 level tsp of the mixture into balls and place well apart on the trays.
6. Using a fork, flatten the balls to 4cm in diameter.
7. Bake for 20 min or until lightly golden. Cool on wire rack.
8. Melt chocolate and shortening in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth.
9. Coat half of the top side (the ridged side)with the choc mixture.
10. Lay on foil-lined tray and stick it in the fridge.