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Journal-News.com

Hazelnut Cookies

Julie Triftshouser has been making her Hazelnut Cookies for 44 years, going back to when she married her husband and got the recipe from his mother. Her German mother-in-law had modified a basic meringue recipe, adding both ground chocolate and lemon zest. It is a moist, not crisp, meringue cookie.

1/4-pound package of German’s Sweet Chocolate
1/2 pound blanched filberts *
Zest of 1 lemon
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/3 cup sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon
Semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Process the sweet chocolate, using the shredder disc of a food processor. Set aside. Process nuts to a fine meal using the steel knife of the processor. Zest the lemon. Cover baking sheets with nonstick foil. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in the upper half of oven. Beat egg whites until foamy, adding cream of tartar. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff. Add the ground nuts, chocolate and lemon zest to the mixture, folding in. Drop by the heaping teaspoon on baking sheet, refrigerating remaining batter between batches. Top with a chocolate morsel. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool sheets for 1 minute on wire racks, then remove from sheets to paper towels. Drop more cookies on baking sheet just before putting in the oven to prevent them from spreading too thin. Store in covered cardboard box, separating layers with wax paper. Keep in a cool place.

Note: The contestant likes to add two slices of bread to the container to keep them moist.

* Blanched hazelnuts are available at Dayton Nut Specialties, 919 N. Main St.