If Oregon was a cookie, it would be this one.
A delicious chocolate shortbread dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with hazelnuts (the Oregon state nut). The Oregon way is the best way.
This recipe comes from Erin of Platings and Pairings for Bob’s Red Mill’s United States of Cookies. If you’re interested in finding your states cookie or any of the other state cookies, you can find them here. There are definitely some other state cookies I want to try out. Hawaii and Maine, I’m looking at you!
If I’m going to be honest with you (and I always am ;)), I actually only had one of these cookies. I made these on January 2nd and started whole30 on January 3rd. So they basically sat in a bag on my counter until I met up with a friend of mine later in the week and gave them all to her. Sharing is caring!
I’m officially done with whole30 on February 1st and I’m not gonna lie, I’m ready for the end. It’s been fun and challenging but I’ve missed baking, although I do have a couple good soup recipes coming up for you guys.
Baking is my therapy. I love kneading dough, getting frustrated with macarons, playing around with different flavours and challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone and bake things I’ve never made before (I’m talking about you, sweet potato cheesecake). Since all of my knee problems and having to put my pastry career on a pretty permanent pause, my baking outlet is this blog and things I make for friends and family. Not baking just doesn’t feel natural and I’m ready to jump back in.
I might even have to make these again, just to get a really good sense of how they taste. Even though I know they’re good, it’s always good to do some quality control, ya know?
So there ya have it. All you need to make a quintessentially Oregon cookie is chocolate and hazelnuts. The stuff of dreams!
Ingredients
- 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (divided)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
Instructions
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the flour mixture until just combined. Add vanilla and half of the chopped chocolate and mix well.
- Lightly flour your work surface and divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a log, about 1" in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until firm.
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Slice cookie logs into 1/4" rounds and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cookies will be slightly soft to the touch.
- Allow to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Line your work surface with parchment or wax paper.
- Microwave remaining chopped chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals until smooth. Dip each cookie in chocolate, then place on parchment. Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle each cookie with chopped hazelnuts.
