Dare to… eat cookies!

This week, Kim‘s Dare to DIY challenge was to make yummy holiday cookies.
click on the badge to head over to Kim’s site and find links to what the other ladies baked:

I chose to make Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints from my latest issue of Cooking Light.

Don’t be confused.  The cookies are not the healthy treats mentioned on the left side of the cover.

These are delicious!  The cookies have a brownie-like texture and richness while the Nutella gives them a creamy smooth finish. 
Personally, I think the best way to make them is while drinking a Mikes and snacking on holiday Chex Mix. 

A few things I learned:
-  When I added the flour mixture to the egg mixture, my dough didn’t come together.  So, I stopped, scraped the beater blade off really well and when I mixed again, the dough came together right away.
-  I didn’t toast my nuts (I was a little lazy) and think the cookies came out fine.
-  I should have, however, chopped my nuts smaller.  I left them a little bigger to be pretty, but the larger (pretty) pieces fell off the cookies at the end.  Smaller bits stuck better.
-  I baked all of my cookies at once.  10 minuets wasn’t quite long enough though.  They probably cooked 12 minutes total (and could have gone a minute or two longer).
-  My thumbprint almost completely disappeared during baking.  I just put a new thumbprint in when the cookies came out of the oven.
-  A small offset spatula works great for applying the Nutella.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Thumbprints (from Cooking Light – December 2009)

4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon instant espresso (optional; I left this out)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted
1/3 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk.  Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).  Stir egg yolks with a whisk, adding espresso, if desired.  Add the yolk and vanilla to butter; beat well.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined.
3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax paper; knead 6 times or until smooth and shiny.  Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls.  Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently.  Arrange balls 1-inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving indentation.  Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.  Spoon scant 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.  Yield: 28 cookies (serving size: 1 cookie).