Chocolate Hazel Linzer Cookies

1 C (226 g) Salted Butter, at room temperature

½ C (100 g) Light Brown Sugar

¼ C (50 g) Granulated Sugar

2 Lg Eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or 2 tsp regular pure vanilla extract)

½ tsp Almond Extract Paste (or ½ tsp regular almond extract)

1 C (100 g) Almond Flour

3 C (375 g) All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

½ C Nutella or any Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 3 minutes. Make sure to take the time to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is evenly mixed.

Add the eggs, vanilla bean paste, and almond extract paste and mix for an additional minute, or until the eggs are well incorporated.

Add the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix for about 3 minutes, or until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Split the dough in half, and sprinkle flour onto a sheet of parchment paper placed on top of a clean kitchen towel. This is just to prevent the parchment from sliding all over your counter as you roll the dough out.

Sprinkle the top of the dough and your rolling pin with flour as well. Roll the dough out to about ¼” thick. You want the cookies to be pretty thin as you will

sandwich two cookies together. Once the dough is rolled out, pop it into the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm up, then cut circles with a cookie or biscuit cutter.

Use an offset spatula to transfer the cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, 12 cookies per sheet. Use a cookie cutter smaller than the cut circles in the shape of your choice and cut it out of half of the cookies.

Freeze the cutout shapes for 10 minutes, then bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Keeping the dough super cold will ensure that they don’t spread while they bake and that the cookies line up perfectly when you sandwich them together.

Let the cookies cool completely, then dust half of the cookies with the cutouts with powdered sugar.

Invert the bottom cookies and spread 2 tsp of chocolate hazelnut spread almost to the edges in an even layer. Place the top cookie on and press lightly to seal.

Enjoy at room temperature or chilled.