Nutella Linzer Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 110g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened (substitute plant butter for vegan)
- 60g (1/4 cup) powdered sugar
- 50g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
- 1 egg (substitute: 1 flax egg for vegan)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 70g (1/2 cup) hazelnut meal
- 190g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
- 1/4 cup chocolate hazelnut cream for filling
Preparation
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth for 1 minute.
Add sugars and beat until fluffy and light in color for 5 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
Mix in the hazelnut meal just until combined.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Slowly mix the flour mixture into the dough until just combined.
Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and shape into a disk.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 180C degrees.
Roll out dough to 4mm thickness.
Cut out an even number of cookies with a cookie cutter and use a smaller decorative cutter to remove the center from half of them.
Bake for 8 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom.
Let cool for a few minutes on the baking tray, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Assembly
Spread 1 teaspoon of hazelnut cream onto the bottom of the solid cookies and sandwich with the cut-out cookies on top.
Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
Makes 24 cookie sandwiches.
1 flax egg is made by mixing 1 tablespoon freshly ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons water.
For a vegan version, substitute plant-based butter, use a flax egg or reduce flour to 150g and add 1 tablespoon plant milk.
