Daddy Long Legs

By norsegal8

Here's a great cookie to eat while sipping coffee. This crisp, crunchy cookie is made with a minimum of butter and a good deal more sugar than is used in most cookie doughs. Add a lot of nuts and you have not only an additional crunch but an intense flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 10 ounces hazelnuts, toasted
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter at medium-low speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the sugar at medium speed until well combined and slightly fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined. Lower speed, add the nuts all at once, then add the flour gradually. Mix until just thoroughly combined.

2. Divide the dough into four equal portions. With your floured fingertips, form each portion of dough into a rectangular brick 10 inches long, 2 inches wide and ¾ inch high. Wrap each brick in plastic and refrigerate until firm, for at least 4 hours* or up to 3 days; or freeze, well wrapped, for up to 1 month.

3. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Remove one brick of dough from the refrigerator. Using a sharp knife, cut 3/8-inch-thick slices and place them, cut side down, ½ in apart on a baking sheet. Bake, one sheet at a time, for just 8 minutes. The cookies’ surface will be dull, not shiny. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the cookies over with a metal spatula. Return to the oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes more, or until pale golden and crisp. Remove cookies with a metal spatula to a wire rack to cool.

5. Stack cookies in an airtight metal container and store at room temperature.

*BAKING NOTE
Resting and chilling the dough are especially important steps in this recipe. In order to cut the dough neatly to retain chunks of nuts in each slice, you must let the dough rest and firm in the refrigerator. Resting allows time for the nuts to absorb moisture from the dough, thereby softening them for cutting. Chilling makes it easier to slice the dough precisely.