OATMEAL CARDAMOM HAZELNUT COOKIES

It’s officially December and I’m officially frozen in Maine. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived in the snow - about 8 years since Chicago - and even though I’m much more prepared than before (better shoes, better jackets), I am always cold! I don’t know if my freshman 15 helped me stay warmer when I was in Chicago, but I must say, I don’t remember losing feeling in my toes and having frozen legs as much as I do these days. Regardless, Maine is very pretty and cozy covered in snow, and I’m adamant to continue my daily walks even if it takes me double the time than it normally would.

With Christmas being a few weeks away, I wanted to give another cookie option that would be great for the holiday. Every Christmas, I bake 3-4 different cookies from my blog, wrap them up nicely in a cute bag, and hand them out as gifts to friends and family. It’s a tradition of mine that I look forward to every year since I think the best gift is one that is homemade or DIY. Last year, I made: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Ginger Molasses Cookies, and Chocolate Chunk and Pistachio Cookies. Picking a variety of cookies that are unlike one another makes the cookie bag more exciting for the recipient and allows them to try cookies that they might have never had before.

One cookie that I might be adding to the gift bag this year is today’s recipe of Oatmeal Cardamom Hazelnut Cookies. I cannot take credit for the invention of this flavor combination since I actually got the idea from local Maine bakery, Night Moves. Besides being my favorite Bob Seger song, Night Moves is one of my favorite places to get an amazing loaf of bread as well as some of the tastiest cookies (their chocolate chip cookies are the best in the area, period). My love for this bakery, which is located about 30 minutes away in Biddeford, is definitely shared with many other people, and it was actually just named by Food and Wine Magazine as one of the Top 10 Best Bakeries in the Country. It is here that I tried their Double Oat + Hazelnut + Cardamom Cookie, and obviously it was insanely delicious. So I tried my best to recreate it at home with a few differences (Night Moves’ version is gluten free and has two kinds of oats, whereas mine has flour and only old-fashioned rolled oats). But to me, the stars of the cookie is the combo of buttery, crunchy hazelnuts and my favorite spice, cardamom.

I’ve mentioned this before, but ever since I tried the Cardamom Bun from another local bakery in Portland, Belleville, I’ve been on a huge cardamom kick. If you’re unfamiliar with the spice, it’s very prominent in the Middle East, North Africa and Scandinavia and is actually the second most expensive spice in the world, with saffron being number one. There are three different kinds of cardamom - green, black and white - but green cardamom is the most popular and best for baked goods, with its citrus-y and herbal flavor profile. I find that it works perfectly in carrot and coffee cakes, apple tarts, and desserts that feature pumpkin pureé. Honestly, it’s hard to find a baked good that cardamom wouldn’t work in.

Making these cookies is very straightforward, with the only nuisance of needing the butter and egg to be at room temperature. I initially wrote the recipe to have you bake off the cookies immediately (aka, no chilling of the dough), but upon testing the cookies after two hours of chilling, the cookies were so much chewier and better! So I strongly recommend chilling the dough for at least an hour.

Need more Christmas cookie options besides the ones I listed above? Here are 5 more great recipes on my blog:

1. Brown Butter, Pecan + Milk Chocolate Cookies - very decadent chocolate chip cookies

2. Grapefruit White Chocolate Cookies - perfect since citrus is in season now

3. Chewy Funfetti Sugar Cookies - just switch out the rainbow sprinkles for red and green ones!

4. Olive Oil Brownie Cookies w/ Hazelnuts Nuts - these are some of my fav cookies, with or without the nuts

5. Salted Toffee + Brown Sugar Cookies - always a fan favorite, and a great non-chocolate option

Oatmeal Cardamom Hazelnut Cookies

Yields 12-14 large cookies

Recipe adapted from Broma Bakery

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats

• 1 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark)

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Directions

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, oats, cardamom, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt with a whisk. Set aside.

2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), cream the butter and both sugars together for about three minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix again until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. All at once, add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix on low for about 10 seconds before increasing the speed to medium. Mix until just combined. Fold in the hazelnuts with a spatula. Chill the dough for at least one hour.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Using a large cookie scoop or spoons, portion out 3 tbsp. of dough per cookie and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake 6 cookies at a time since these are larger.

6. Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the sides of the cookies are a light brown color. Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

BROWN BUTTER, PECAN + MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

To say that a lot has happened since the last time I posted here would be a severe understatement. In an effort to keep things positive and provide an escape from what’s going on in the world, especially America, I’m going to stick to talking about my life and, of course, baking. But just so we’re clear, Black Lives Matter, and if you need some guidance on how to help the cause, with anything from where to donate to which petitions to sign, click here.

As for me, I am finally writing this post in my new apartment in Portland, Maine (!!!). After pushing our move back numerous times due to Covid-19, Alex and I made the difficult decision to leave California after Mother’s Day. But instead of flying to Maine, which was always our plan, we packed Alex’s small-but-mighty Scion and drove 3100 miles to our new home. The road trip was a memorable experience, albeit a bittersweet one because although we were excited to drive through states we had never visited before like Oklahoma and New Mexico, anything worth seeing was closed due to the virus. State parks, kitschy roadside diners, famous landmarks… all the places that make a road trip exciting and give you something to look forward to when driving 9 hours a day, were out of the question. Regardless, we had a great time and would do the drive all over again in a heartbeat (as long as everything is reopened next time).

Life in Maine has been pretty amazing so far and we seem to have already found our groove. Saturdays have been dedicated to exploring new areas outside of Portland, like Kennebunkport, Sebago Lake, Bath, Bald Mountain, etc. and all I can say is that I’m so happy that we have a car. As much as we love living in Portland, Maine overall has so much to offer and I feel so lucky that we have been able to see other beautiful parts of the state. Whenever people are ready to visit us, we’re going to have a hard time narrowing down which places to show them, which is a nice problem to have.

Alright, enough about me. Let’s get to the cookies, shall we?

These brown butter, pecan and milk chocolate chip cookies are without a doubt my new favorite cookie (I know I always say that, but it’s true!) and although they may look like plain ole chocolate chip cookies, they are anything but. The use of milk chocolate instead of my forever go-to dark chocolate was a huge factor in making these my favorite. I couldn’t remember the last time that I made cookies with milk chocolate and it really made a difference in flavor for me. I honestly thought it would make the cookies too sweet, but when combined with brown butter, toasted pecans and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt, it all worked harmoniously.

This was the first time that I’d tried adding pecans to chocolate chip cookies (let’s not forget about my Mexican Wedding Cakes, which are made of finely ground pecans), and I gotta say that it gives my Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies a run for its money. The sweet and buttery nuts pair perfectly with the toffee-like taste of the brown butter, and when combining that with creamy milk chocolate, you have the best of all worlds.

Brown butter is no stranger to my site, with my Pumpkin and Brown Butter Breakfast Puffs and Brown Butter Apple Buckle recipes being two of the most viewed pages on my site. Browning butter is an extremely simple technique, but here’s a video to guide you through the process in case it’s your first time. And unlike my other brown butter-focused recipes, we make up for the loss of water that evaporates while browning by adding 2 teaspoons of milk. Any milk will work, including non-dairy varieties like almond or cashew, or you can even use water. I personally used almond milk and it came out perfectly. Brown butter takes these cookies to a whole different level of deliciousness, but if you’re nervous that it’d make the cookies too decadent, trust me on this: the decadence will be welcomed by your tastebuds.

Brown Butter, Pecan and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields about 3 dozen cookies

Recipe adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp. baking powder

• 3/4 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. kosher salt

• 2 tsp. milk (any kind works, even non-dairy varieties)

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (light or dark)

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature

• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 8 oz. milk chocolate bars, chopped into chunks (or chocolate chips)

• 4 oz. (about 1 cup) toasted whole pecans, roughly chopped

• Flaky sea salt (optional)

Directions

1. Make the brown butter: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam and turn to a golden color. Stir frequently and soon there will be a nutty smell and the butter will brown. Immediately take off the heat once browned and transfer to a large bowl. Allow it to cool for about 10-15 minutes before moving on.

2. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

3. To the bowl with the cooled brown butter, add the milk and both sugars and whisk until incorporated, Stir in the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla extract.

4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the chopped milk chocolate and pecans with a spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight if you have time,

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and using a spoon or a cookie scoop, scoop out 1-2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Finish cookies with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt if desired. Allow the cookies to sit on the tray for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT + ORANGE SCONES

It’s been about six months since my last scone recipe (these beautiful strawberry cream babies) so I’m thrilled to offer you a brand new flavor combination with my chocolate hazelnut and orange scones,

Ever since I posted the recipe for my chocolate orange bundt cake, my love for this classic flavor pairing has grown exponentially. Coming from a kid who detested the idea of any dessert involving chocolate and fruit (I’m looking at you as well, raspberry), it’s a big deal that I’ve overcome this, and I find myself constantly buying anything that marries the two. Since scones are my favorite pastries to get when I go to coffee shops, I had to see for myself if chocolate orange scones would work out. Spoiler: they did.

I decided to use the base of my cranberry-orange scones from an earlier post, which yields slightly sweetened and tender scones with a crunchy exterior. Unlike my strawberry cream scones, this recipe calls for cutting butter into the flour mixture. Although is a fairly simple procedure, the only thing you have to worry about is not over mixing the dough. My two other tips that will guarantee a perfect batch of scones are: 1) keeping the ingredients/dough as cold as possible and 2) brushing the pre-baked scones with milk/cream/egg wash and sprinkling with sugar. I go into more detail on these tips in my cranberry-orange scone post, so feel free to review them there.

Although these scones get a great amount of crunchiness from the added sugar on top, especially if using turbinado sugar, I also wanted to add some sort of nut for extra texture as well as flavor. I at first was going to try pecans, but when I opened up my freezer to check out my supply, I found two unopened bags of raw hazelnuts that were intended for gelato; it seemed to be fate. And since we all know how well chocolate and hazelnuts work together (hello, Nutella!), the combination of the two mixed with hints of orange zest sprinkled through out the dough brought it to a whole different level of deliciousness, This scone is quite simply the best one I’ve had in a long time.

Chocolate Hazelnut Scones

Yields 8 large scones

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt

• Zest of 1 large orange

• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2” pieces

• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled, plus more for brushing

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted hazelnuts

• Turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar), for sprinkling on top

Directions

1. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl. Whisk in the orange zest.

2. Add the butter pieces to the mixture by working with your hands or a pastry cutter, and rub the mixture together until it resembles course crumbs. Slowly add the buttermilk, mixing it in with a fork or wooden spoon. Very carefully, fold in the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a couple of times. Using your hands, work the dough into a 1-inch thick circle. With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges and transfer the scones to a large plate (or two) and pop them into the freezer for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each scone. Brush each scone with buttermilk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

5. Bake the scones in the oven for 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the tops are a light golden brown. Enjoy!