Direction for Gluten-Free Hazelnuts Cookies

• Preheat oven to 160C° / 200F° using the confectionary setting.
   
• Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
   
• Fit a pastry bag with a large round piping tip and set it aside.
   
• I use my grind mill (a grinding attachment on my mixer) to grind raw hazelnuts with skins on. 
   
• If you don't have a grinder, you can grind the 225-gram almonds in a food processor until the consistency is a sandy flecked, granular powder. Do not over-grind or they will turn into an unusable paste.
   
• In a medium bowl, combine 225-gram ground hazelnuts and 75-gram cornstarch/cornflour, mix with a whisk, and set aside for now.
   
• Whip the inside of a mixer bowl and the whisk attachment with lemon juice to eliminate any trace of grease.
   
• Pour about 5 cm ( 2 inches) of water into a medium saucepan and place over medium heat.
   
• Separate the egg whites from the yolks, set the yolks aside for the custard buttercream if you plan to make the hazelnuts cookies with the custard buttercream filling.
   
• For the gluten-free hazelnuts, cookies place 250-gram egg whites, 450-gram superfine sugar (or white sugar), 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the mixer bowl and whisk to combine.
   
• Place the bowl over the pan of simmering water (but not touching the water) and constantly whisk until the mixture thins and the sugar dissolves, and the mixture looks like milk for about 3 to 4 minutes.
   
• To check if the sugar is dissolved, which is important for this recipe, dip a clean spoon into the meringue mixture and then rub it between your fingers to test whether it's ready. If you can still feel any sugar granules, whisk it a bit more.
   
• As soon as the sugar is dissolved, remove the bowl from the pan and place the bowl on a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
   
• Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. This takes about 5 to 7 more minutes. The whites will look glossy, and the whites should be at stiff peaks.
   
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, and with a spatula, fold in the ground hazelnuts and cornstarch/cornflour mixture into the whipped meringue mixture until combined.
   
• Fill your prepared piping/pastry bag with the meringue/hazelnut mixture.
   
• Pipe about 12 medium-size circles on each of your prepared baking sheets. Pipe each circle not close to each other. This recipe gives you about 50 hazelnut shells, depending on what size you are making these cookies. Once all the hazelnut cookies are piped if some have a top pointing upward, slightly pat the top down with a small spatula.
   
• Bake the cookies in the center of the oven for around 12 to 17 minutes ( mine took 15 min) until the meringue cookies are set. Some cookies can have a small, slightly cracked top.
   
• Leave to cool on the baking sheet until completely cooled, The top of the hazelnut shells are pretty fragile when they are freshly baked. Remove the hazelnut cookies when completely cooled by gently and slowly lifting them off the silicone mat or parchment paper. Sometimes it helps to lift the mat and peel it away from the cookies. 
   
• These cookies taste better and get more firm and are so much more gooey after some hours in the fridge, place the cookies in a ziplock bag. Unfilled cookies shells will keep in the freezer in a ziplock bag placed in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
   
• If you want to drizzle the hazelnut cookies shell with dark bittersweet melted chocolate, I recommend you temper your chocolate first. Tempering the chocolate allows it to set properly and won't melt on your fingers when you enjoy the cookies. To temper, the chocolate first, melt 75 grams of the dark chopped chocolate, then add the remaining 25 grams of chopped chocolate and stir until it is also melted. This method isn't foolproof, but it works fine for these cookies.
   
• I love to drizzle the cookies with the dark bittersweet melted chocolate across the top of each cookie in a messy pattern with the back of a spoon, then sprinkle with the chopped candy cane candy just before the chocolate is set, if you plan to enjoy these cookies with just chocolate and crushed candy cane.
   
• To make the Suksess Cookies with the custard buttercream, make the  Crème Anglaise and the Whipped Custard Buttercream as described below. I recommend you place the cookies in the fridge for some hours in a ziplock bag before filling the cookies with the custard buttercream.

Directions for the Crème Anglaise

 

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together six egg yolks, 150-gram heavy cream, 150-gram sugar, and two teaspoons vanilla bean paste or seeds from 1 vanilla bean. Using vanilla bean, use a sharp knife to split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the saucepan. Put the vanilla pod in there as well.
   
• Place the saucepan over medium heat to warm it a bit, then turn the heat down to low heat or just below medium heat, but make sure to whisk at all times.
   
• Low heat is essential here! Allow the mixture to simmer to a low boil stir constantly until the sauce is thickened; this takes about 15 to 20 minutes. 
   
• I promise you the whipped custard cream at the end is worth that afford. 
   
• Watch carefully while whisking the mixture over low heat to thicken because the eggs can go from liquid to overcooked in just moments! 
   
• When ready, turn off the heat. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean mixer bowl. Discard the vanilla bean if you used that.
   
• Refrigerate for 2 hours.
  
   

Directions for the Whipped Custard Buttercream

 

• The butter for this frosting should be semi-cold, meaning pliable but cool. I prefer using salted butter, it is a better match flavorwise.
   
• Cut 150 gram salted or unsalted butter into  → small cubes for the whipped Custard buttercream.
   
• In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the  → paddle attachment, beat the salted or unsalted butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
   
• Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure the butter is smooth and creamy.
   
• Take the cold Crème Anglaise out of the fridge. Pour the cold Crème Anglaiseinto the bowl with the whipped butter, then beat again on high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.
   
• Fit a pastry bag any nozzle of your choice, and half fill with the custard buttercream.
   
• Next, pipe a dollop or a small circle of custard buttercream onto the underside of one of the hazelnut cookie shells. Next, sandwich its matching cookie shell on top so that the bottom of each cookie shell is gainst the custard buttercream.
   
• Place the filled hazelnut cookies in an airtight container or ziplock bag and pop them into the refrigerator. Leave them to rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours before serving, To allow the moisture from the filling to melt together with the cookie shells, creating optimum texture.
   
• For maximum deliciousness, serve these filled cookies cold straight from the fridge.
   
• Filled hazelnut cookies will keep in a ziplock bag or an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. And in the freezer for up to 1 month.
   
• Unfilled cookies shells will keep in the freezer in a ziplock bag placed in an airtight container for up to 3 months.