A couple of months ago, I was tooling around the Martha Stewart website, and I found a slideshow titled: “Grown-Up Cookie Recipes.” My first thought was: “Way to make a cookie sound unappealing, Martha,” and then my second thought was: “Oh, I bet at least half of these are shortbreads.” (Spoiler alert: they are.)
So forgive me if, since seeing that slideshow, I’ve started to think of this shortbread as a Grown Ass Woman Cookie, all props going to this incredible blog post about the myth of the Grown Ass Woman. This shortbread is subtle, refined, delicate. It’s not kidding around. Drizzle chocolate on it or—as I prefer to—leave it unadorned, ready to be dipped into a soy chai latte.
Hazelnut Shortbread
makes 4 dozen
1 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Cream margarine and sugar until fluffy. Mix in syrup and vanilla. Add flour and beat until just combined. Fold in hazelnuts.
Shape into two logs about 1 1/2 in. in diameter, and wrap tightly in parchment or waxed paper. Chill for 2 hours or until firm.
Preheat oven to 325. Cut into 1/4 in. slices and place two inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in the center of the oven for 14-16 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
Microwave chocolate chips until chocolate is almost completely melted. Stir to fully melt and then, when cookies are cool, use your preferred drizzling method to drizzle melted chocolate on the cookies. I do it by spooning it into a plastic bag and snipping a tiny corner off the bag because I feel like I get the best control that way, but suit yourself!