Hazelnut Shortbread with Salted Ganache Sandwich Cookies

• Vegetarian

• Condiments

  • 2 tsp Vanilla bean paste

• Baking & Spices

  • 184 g 1 1/4 c all purpose flour
  • 115 g 1 c hazelnut flour
  • 2 3 c cane sugar, (158g
  • 1 1/2 cup Bittersweet chocolate
  • 1 Fleur de sel
  • 1/2 tsp Sea salt

• Dairy

  • 230 room temperature g 1 c or 2 sticks unsalted butter, Unsalted
  • 3/4 cup Heavy cream

Found on vanillaandbean.com

Description

Directions

• In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, to the bowl add butter, sugar, sea salt and vanilla bean paste. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed until ingredients come together and are smooth. Add the all purpose flour and hazelnut flour. Pulse in, then turn to medium speed until the dough starts to come together and form somewhat of a ball on the paddle.
• Dump dough onto lightly floured work surface and form into a disk about 1/2 (1.3cm) thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least two hours. At this point the dough can be frozen for at least two months. Double wrap and label the dough. To defrost, place in fridge overnight.
• Remove from refrigerator and let the dough sit for about five to 10 minutes. This will bring the temperature up a bit and make it easier to work with. Sprinkle the work surface, rolling pin and top of dough with flour, and beat the dough several times with the rolling pin. This conditions the dough and readies it for rolling. Then begin rolling into a rough circle to about 1/4 (0.6cm) thick. Its important to keep the dough at the same thickness throughout so that the cookies each bake evenly.
• Line a sheet-pan with parchment paper. Dip the cookie cutter in some flour and begin cutting out the cookies. I used a 1 1/2 (3.8cm) fluted round cutter like these. Transfer the cookies to the sheet-pan. Gather the scraps, working the dough to make another disk, reroll and cut. Youll probably need to pop the dough back in the fridge for rerolling if your kitchen is warm. The cooler the dough, the cleaner the cut. Do this until all the dough has been used. Theres no need to worry about over working the dough.
• Place the cookies in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes prior to baking. Do not skip this step or the cookies will spread. Now is a good time to make the ganache.
• Preheat the oven to 325F (180C). Place baking rack in center of the oven.
• Bake cookies for 25-26 minutes or until golden, starting to check on them at about 22 minutes due to oven variations. Theyll be darker on the bottom than the top. Remove from oven and using an offset spatula, carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely before making the sandwich cookies.
• Place the chopped chocolate into a bowl. Meanwhile heat the cream on medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edges of the cream. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Allow it to set for two minutes without stirring. Use a spatula to gently start folding and slowly stirring the chocolate until all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. Place plastic wrap right on the surface of the ganache so that a skin doesnt form. Allow to set at room temperature to thicken for at least an hour.
• Check the ganache to see it has thickened. It shouldnt be runny, but should be thick enough to pipe, like the consistency of very soft butter. If not, place it in the microwave for no more than 5 seconds. Stir well. Place #18 open star pastry tip in a pastry bag and fill with ganache. Alternatively, fill a plastic zip bag with ganache, forcing it into one corner and cut a small hole in the corner. Pipe the ganache just inside the edge of a cookie in a circular motion moving from the edge to the center. Sprinkle a few flakes of Fleur du Sel over the ganache and top it with another cookie.
• Store in a covered container for up to one week. If making the cookies without the ganache, the cookies can be stored for up to two weeks.