TO BAKE, CAKE AND DESSERT TO BAKE, CAKE AND DESSERT

Dark Chocolate and sweet Apricot Cookies

John Fahey's Christmas songs are playing in the background, the tree is lit up and my second Christmas cooking baking session can start. Happy Advent!

Today's cookies are a lovely combination of dark chocolate and sweet apricot jam. The texture is light and crumbly enriched with the juiciness of the jam. The dough is made with ground hazelnuts which adds a nice nuttiness and - like yesterday's Kipferl - they are so easy to prepare!

These cookies put me in a real time warp. I used to love them as a child and I gobbled up boxes of them. But as I tried out so many different recipes over the years I forgot about them. But now they are back in my cookie boxes!

Update, December 2023: Today, 10 years after I posted this recipe, a friend pointed out that these cookies taste like the famous Austrian Sachertorte. It’s true!

Chocolate Cookies with Apricot Jam

For 70 double cookies you need

  • plain flour 350g / 12 ounces

  • hazelnuts, ground, 100g / 3.5 ounces

  • sugar 100g / 3.5 ounces

  • butter, soft, 250g / 9 ounces

  • bittersweet chocolate, melted, 200g / 7 ounces (100g / 3.5 ounces for the dough and the rest for topping)

  • a pinch of salt

  • apricot jam for the filling

You need a round cookie cutter (about 3,5 cm  / 1 1/2").

Melt half of the chocolate. Combine the flour with the ground hazelnuts and the salt. Mix the butter together with the sugar till fluffy, add the melted chocolate and mix again. Mix the butter mixture together with the flour mixture. Form a ball, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for 60 - 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and melt the rest of the chocolate.

Roll the dough out thinly (about 2-3mm) between cling film and cut out your cookies with a floured cookie cutter. Bake them for 7-9 minutes, they shouldn't get too dark. Let them cool.

Brush half of your cookies with the melted chocolate.

Cover each of the remaining cookies with 1/4 teaspoon of jam and place a chocolate topped cookie on top. Let the chocolate dry completely and then: fill your cookie boxes!

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