06.01.2009 Chocolate Has-A-Nut Cookies

Don’t poke fun at the lame title. It’s late. Early. Late. Whatever…

I just found out my sister is getting married. So I’m sending her virtual cookies!

If you don’t have chocolate and/or hazelnut extracts, I suggest you double the amount of vanilla instead.

1/3 cup (75 g) nondairy butter
1/2 cup (96 g) Sucanat
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon hazelnut extract, optional
1 teaspoon chocolate extract, optional
1 cup (120 g) whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons (26 g) hazelnuts, halved
1/4 cup (44 g) nondairy semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons plain soy or other nondairy milk

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, such as Silpat.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This should take 2 minutes. Stir in extracts.
Incorporate flour, salt, and baking powder, scraping sides once during the process.
Still using the electric mixer, stir in nuts and chips. Add milk until the dough is moist enough to stick together when pinched.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions, using about 1 1/2 tablespoons (32 g) worth of dough. Place on cookie sheets, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart from each other. Flatten them a little: they don’t spread too much while baking.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Wait a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 12 cookies