Chocolate Hazelnut Smooches Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread the hazelnuts in a single layer in a shallow pan and place them in the preheated oven, turning every now and again, until lightly toasted and the skins begin to blister, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then, working in batches, rub them between the palms of your hands until the skins loosen and fall away. (This will take some time and not every bit of skin will rub off.) Chop the hazelnuts coarsely.
• Using a nut mill, blender, or a food processor fitted with the metal blade, grind the hazelnuts to a fine powder. (If the nuts do become oily, pass them through a sieve to break up any lumps.) Place in a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar.
• Add the butter, cocoa, honey, and vanilla and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add the egg whites, a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add only enough of the whites for the dough to take on the consistency of a loose paste or spritz cookie dough. Do not worry if all of the egg whites are not used.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease them with butter. Spoon the hazelnut mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a No. 6 star tip. Pipe out rosettes 1 inch in diameter onto the prepared sheets, spacing the rosettes about 1 1/2 inches apart. You should have about 60 rosettes in all. Let the rosettes sit, uncovered, at room temperature overnight.
• Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake the cookies in the preheated oven until firm to the touch but still moist inside, 8 to 10 minutes. When they are done they will not brown and may even look undercooked, so you must test by touch. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the top pan of a double boiler placed over simmering water. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Gently turn half of the cookies top sides down on a flat surface and spread about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate on each of the upturned bottoms. As each cookie is coated, press a plain cookie onto the chocolate, bottom side down, to form a "sandwich". Lay the cookies on their sides on a tray or flat plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes to set the chocolate. Store in a covered container, at room temperature, for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• For the cookies: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With the machine running, gradually add the flour until incorporated. Beat in the chocolate-hazelnut spread. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop 12 balls of dough onto each baking sheet. Bake until the bottoms of the cookies flatten out slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Place 1 cup of powdered sugar in a medium bowl. In batches, roll the cookies in the sugar until coated. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Drop in the hazelnuts, bring back to a boil, and blanch 10 seconds. Drain hazelnuts in a colander, then spread out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place in oven and roast 8 to 10 minutes until light brown. Remove from oven, place a kitchen towel over the pan, and allow to cool completely.
• Rub cooled hazelnuts between your palms; the skins should slip right off. Set aside 50 whole hazelnuts. Grind the rest very fine in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and set aside.
• Place sugar and heavy cream in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add the chopped chocolate, let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter. Pour the ganache into the bowl of an electric mixer and allow to cool until set. Fit the machine with a paddle and beat the set ganache on medium speed until aerated and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the reserved ground hazelnuts and the liqueur if using. Beat well to thoroughly combine.
• Load mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Pipe out 1/2-inch balls. On top of each ball, press in one of the reserved whole toasted hazelnuts until it is halfway buried. Place pan in refrigerator to chill completely.
• To coat, place tempered chocolate in a medium bowl. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Get yourself 2 forks. Place one nut-topped ball on the prongs of one fork, nut up. Lower the fork into the melted chocolate, covering completely. Lift fork up, pause 3 seconds to allow excess chocolate to drip off, then run bottom of fork along top of bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place fork on paperlined pan and use second fork to push off the candy while you withdraw the first fork (it's easier than it sounds). Keep the nut up at all times. Repeat with remaining centers. If it's warm out, place the finished candies in the refrigerator to set; otherwise they will set at cool room temperature (65 degrees).
• Both of these candies make great Christmas presents packed into little boxes or baskets. They are involved but can be done easily in large batches. One day of work can yield many gifts. You can make a double of triple batch of truffle ganache and divide it, beating different flavorings into different parts.

Steps:

• Beat egg whites until they form peaks. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla until then whites are stiff. Gently stir in the nuts and chocolate chips with a spoon. Drop the batter on parchment paper on a baking sheet in teardrops, Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in preheated 300 degree oven, until smooches are hard but still white.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the flour. Add the eggs, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir well. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 1 hour.
• Cool the tart for at least 30 minutes before serving.