This past weekend we held a wedding shower for Jeff's niece, Megan. We ordered a cake for dessert, but knew we needed a few finger desserts as extras. I was thinking I would make my favorite and easiest chocolate chip cookies, Andria's Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I took out my baking basket which holds all my bags of chips; butterscotch, milk chocolate, peanut butter and bittersweet chocolate. I found a chunk of hazelnut milk chocolate and decided to make Giada's Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti. As I was combing through her cookbooks, looking for the recipe, I came across this recipe of chocolate chip cookies with hazelnuts. As I read through the story behind the cookies, I started to laugh. Giada DeLaurentiis talks about these cookies being her favorite and that she made them for her wedding. OK, I remember this story, maybe I made these before. (Losing my mind?) I looked on the blog and didn't find the recipe. I checked the cookbook, Giada's Family Dinnersand realized it was published in 2006, pre- Friends Food Family. It's amazing how we make so many recipes once and then move on to the next recipe.
I also looked at the ingredients and it called for oatmeal to be ground into a powder. Oatmeal being ground into flour reminds me of one recipe (and one recipe only)...Mrs' Field's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Now, you all remember the story about Mrs. Field's Cookies and how some woman asked for the recipe and was charged some strange amount of money. The story started at $250, then it was $2,500, and then it was $25,000 and I think at one point I read $250,000. Being slightly miffed that her credit card had been charged, she made it her mission to send the recipe to everyone for FREE, or so the internet legend is told.
As I started to put the recipe together and tasting the batter, I remembered how much I liked hazelnuts and how they can have a very different but delicious taste in a chocolate chip cookie. As they came out of the oven, I knew I had made them...they looked perfectly shaped and browned up beautifully. They were crispy, caramel-ly sweet and nutty, everything I like in a cookie! One cookie, two cookies...yes, they are addicting.
They were a big hit at the shower. People thought the combination of chocolate and hazelnut was delicious and I got to freeze a few for later this week. Nothing better than entertaining and having extras for another occasion.
Reminder to self...start remembering to look back over older recipe books for one-time favorites. It's amazing what I can find.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats (not instant)
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup (packed) of light brown sugar
1 cup of white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
4 ounces (1/2 bag) of English toffee candy (recommended: Heath or Skor bar), finely chopped
1 cup 0f hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped
1 (12-ounce) bag of semisweet chocolate chips (I use bittersweet chocolate chips)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Finely chop the oats in a food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips.
For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1-inch apart (do not flatten dough). Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will flatten slightly), about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)