Chocolate-dipped Hazelnut Espresso Cookies

First of all, is that not the cutest cookie up there?  And is it me, or does it not have the coolest wave of brunette ganache sweeping across its little cookie forehead? OK, maybe I've been staring at these cookies a little too long...


So this past weekend we were invited to a friend's home for a lovely dinner of osso buco and fresh spring risotto.  I thought I'd make an Italian-themed dessert to accompany the menu. I found a tempting recipe for Tiramisu Cupcakes and off I went. 

These cupcakes took alot of time - making the cupcake batter, then the coffee syrup, and finally the mascarpone frosting. And when all was said and done, I wasn't 100% sure they were worthy of a trip to a friend's dinner. So I went to my trusty recipe file to find a suitable second. And there it was - a recipe from Leite's Culinaria for Hazelut Espresso Cookies!  It had everything. Except chocolate. But that was quickly remedied by whipping up a chocolate ganache and dipping the top half of the cookie (otherwise known as the "cookie forehead").  Voila! At the last minute I sprinkled some finely chopped hazelnuts on the ganache as it was setting to give it some nice texture.

In the end, I took both desserts to the dinner, and while the cupcakes were good, the cookies were great!  And you know what they say, you can never have too many desserts!  Mangia bene!

Print Cookie Recipe Here

Print Ganache Recipe Here