Ingredients
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1 vanilla bean
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2 sticks butter, room temperature
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1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
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2 cups flour
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1 cup finely chopped or ground hazelnuts
Steps
1
Preheat oven to 325°F.
2
Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise using a small sharp knife. Using tip of knife, scrape seeds into bowl of a standing mixer.
3
Add butter and ½ cup confectioners’ sugar and beat until fluffy.
4
Finely chop the nuts. On low speed, mix in flour, ground hazelnuts and 1/4 tsp salt just until the mixture forms a dough.
5
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets about an inch apart. Bake 15 min. Watch carefully—you don’t want the cookies to brown.
6
Place remaining confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Roll warm cookies in sugar. Cool completely. Roll in sugar again.
7
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
Tips
Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Don’t overdo it, though, otherwise you’ll end up with nut butter!
Shape into crescents rather than balls for traditional nut crescent cookies.
Comments
Make ahead: You can freeze the cookies in an airtight container for up to a month. Toss them in confectioners sugar after thawing.