Oregon Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies

Oregon produces more than 99 percent of the United States' hazelnut crop, and the Willamette Valley's filberts — as locals still call them — are celebrated for their rich, buttery flavor. Ground into a fine meal and folded into classic shortbread dough, they create a crumbly, melt-in-the-mouth cookie that is a staple of Oregon bakeries and holiday gift tins.

Serves: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 150g (1 1/4 cups) whole raw hazelnuts, skins on
• 225g (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 100g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar (icing sugar), sifted, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt, for finishing (such as Maldon)
• Optional: 60g (2 oz) dark chocolate, melted, for drizzling

Instructions

1. Toast hazelnuts: Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Spread hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and roast 10-12 minutes until skins are cracked and nuts are golden. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove most of the skins (some remaining skin is fine). Let cool completely.
2. Make hazelnut meal: Process cooled hazelnuts in a food processor until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs — stop before they become paste. Measure out 120g (1 cup) hazelnut meal.
3. Make dough: Beat butter and powdered sugar in a stand mixer on medium-high until very pale and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Beat in vanilla and fine salt. Reduce speed to low and add flour and hazelnut meal, mixing until the dough just comes together and pulls away from the bowl.
4. Divide dough in half and roll each portion into a log 4cm (1.5 inches) in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). Line two baking sheets with parchment. Slice logs into 8mm (1/3 inch) rounds and arrange 3cm apart on the prepared sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky salt.
6. Bake 14-16 minutes until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. The centers will look slightly underdone — they firm as they cool. Cool completely on the pan before moving.
7. Dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with dark chocolate if desired.

Cook's Notes: The key to good shortbread is not overmixing the flour, which would develop gluten and make the cookies tough. Oregon's own Holmquist Hazelnut Orchards sells excellent hazelnuts by mail if you are cooking outside the region.