Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

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Today is moving day!! Aaahhhhh! By the time you read this, we will be driving/unloading/unpacking all our shtuff into our new place. Exciting, but still sort of unbelievable. Everything happened so fast it’s felt like a whirlwind of appointments, meetings, and never ending to-do lists over the last two weeks. BUT, today is the day we can sort of breath a sigh of relief. Everyone take a deep cleansing breath with me. *inhale* *exhale* That’s better. Here is one of the last recipes for the 12 Days of Holiday Goodies and it’s a good one…and crazy simple. This is hazelnut shortbread turned into wreaths and topped with powdered sugar and a candied cherry. It’s seriously one of the quickest desserts out there and my Mom typically always made some kind of shortbread every Christmas. {This is the Ernhofer classic.}  Only 5 main ingredients go into this recipe and the toasted hazelnut flavor is to die for!! Find yourself some hazelnuts and give these a whirl! Here’s how I made them: Start out by creaming sugar and butter together in your KitchenAid.

While that’s happening you’re going to want to roast some hazelnuts. I did mine in a pan on the stove top, but the oven works just as well. After they turn brown, roll them onto some paper towels or a dish towel and rub the skins off. If some of the skins stay on, it’s not that big of a deal.

Once you have your skinless hazelnuts, grind them up in a food processor.

Add some vanilla along with the hazelnuts into the butter/sugar mixture and stir.

Things should be smelling awfully tasty right about now.

Finally, add in your flour. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together with the heat of your hands.

Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and form it into a circle. Don’t these look like onion rings? Which reminds me…I could go for some Sonic onion rings right about now.

After these bake up, they will be warm and fat!! Just how I like ’em!

Top them off with powdered sugar and half a cherry and that’s it! Hazelnut Shortbread Wreath Cookies. Aren’t they cute?

I loved these and think you will too.

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3 from 2 votes

Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

These festive Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies are turned into wreaths and topped with powdered sugar and a candied cherry!

servings 12 wreaths

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1/2 cup butter softened
• ▢ 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 cup hazelnuts toasted, skins removed if needed
• ▢ 1 cup all purpose flour
• ▢ 1/4 cup powdered sugar may not use all of it
• ▢ 6 candied cherries* sliced in half

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line Baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat and set aside.
• In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer), whip butter and sugar together until well combined and the mixture lightens a bit (about 2 minutes).
• In a food processor, finely grind hazelnuts. Add ground hazelnuts to the butter and sugar mixture along with the vanilla extract. Mix well.
• Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all the flour until just incorporated.
• Form about 2 tablespoons of dough into a circle with a large hole in the middle (like a donut) onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. You should have 12 equal circles.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are barely golden. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
• Dust tops of cookies with powdered sugar and place half of a candied cherry on each wreath. Serve.

Notes

*If you can't find candied cherries, you can use red hot candies. 

Nutrition

Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 237IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies