The weather calls for some treats, here in Amsterdam, so I made myself and my occasional guests some crunchy, rich hazelnut cookies with Marsala wine.They are so easy to make, you wouldn’t find a way to fail them if you wanted. On one of those days when everything seems to go wrong, they will go right.
I though I’d share the recipe with you, in case you needed to feel glad to be indoors.
The whole preparation requires minimum equipment and – as for most cookies – it is quick enough to sweep away almost any grey cloud from a bad day.

Ingredients for about 40 hazelnut cookies

• 200g flour (of which 40g whole spelt flour and 160g wheat flour)
• 100g sugar (of which 50g castor sugar and 50g whole cane sugar)
• 100g butter (softened at room temperature)
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 shot glass of superior Marsala wine (or similar dessert wine)
• 55g whole hazelnuts
• a pinch of salt
• 1 coffee spoon of baking powder

Process

1. Roast the hazelnuts in a pan wide enough to contain them in a single layer. Keep stirring them to make sure they don’t get burnt, until the oily part starts to come out.
2. Grind the hazelnuts roughly in a food processor or crush them with a manual tool.
3. Sift the flour (at least the white part) onto a mixing bowl, then incorporate the other ingredients.
4. Knead the cookie dough quickly, until you can shape it into a smooth ball, wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour.
5. Using a rolling pin on a flour-dusted smooth surface or kneading board, roll out the dough in an even layer approximately 0,5cm thick.
6. Cut out the cookies using a cookie cutter or a small glass and lay them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper a couple of centimetres away from each other.
7. Bake your hazelnut cookies in pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 12-13 minutes, then let them cool down on a cooling rack.

The aromatic smells of roasted hazelnuts and Marsala wine will linger on and make you want to cancel every appointment just to soak yourself in it.
My serving suggestions: these hazelnut cookies are perfect to nibble on the couch, with a good book, a cup of kukicha (roasted green tea), a blanket and a sleepy cat.