Hazelnut oat biscuits with currant jelly

Yes, it's very Christmassy... although... it's not quite Christmassy here yet. And yet (always surprising to me) it's just a few days before the first Advent. It's high time to start baking cookies! That's why this week's recipe is a cookie recipe. And that alone is a bit of a sensation, because we've never featured a sweet recipe here before.

The reason for this first release is this: ever since we started stocking the wonderful hazelnut butter made from the deliciously roasted Piedmont hazelnuts, I've been wondering what the best thing to do with it is. Since I imagine some of you feel the same way, I've chosen a cookie recipe that I can use it in. And a recipe that doesn't require a lot of kneading, weighing, sifting, chopping, and, most importantly, a long resting time (for the dough, anyway...). Oatmeal cookies, of course! For me, they're a traditional part of Advent, but they don't contain cinnamon, so they seemed perfectly fitting for the end of November.

The original recipe, which I found on the lovely blog www.mynewroots.org (which also features a fabulously simple recipe for whole-wheat bread without flour or kneading ), is vegan and uses almond butter instead of hazelnut butter, coconut oil instead of butter, and chia seeds instead of egg. I took the liberty of enriching the recipe with our delicious butter, replacing the chia seeds with an egg, and the almond butter with hazelnut butter. I was a little apprehensive about this, as baking is known to be a kind of mysterious alchemy where even the smallest variation can end in disaster. But lo and behold: everything worked out wonderfully. Even the raw dough tasted fantastic, and contrary to my fears after a glance at the ingredients list, it wasn't too sweet. After I managed to avoid overeating and at least finish baking a few cookies, the entire kitchen was soon filled with a wonderful nutty aroma, and thanks to the short baking time, I was finally able to taste the warm result just a few minutes later. The cookies taste delicious—nicely nutty, but neither too sweet nor too Christmassy. Next time, though, I'd add a few chopped hazelnuts to the dough to further emphasize the nutty flavor, which is very subtle in this version.

Ingredients (for about 20 cookies):

• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp hazelnut butter (original recipe: almond butter)
• 75g cane sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp water + 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or concentrate
• 200g fine oat flakes
• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• Jam, marmalade or jelly according to taste, e.g. red currant jelly

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C
2. Mix the oat flakes well with the baking powder and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the butter and hazelnut butter until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the water, maple syrup, and egg, then add to the buttercream. Mix everything together well.
5. Gradually add the oatmeal and mix everything together. Towards the end, it's best to use your hands.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, form the dough into small balls (ideally enough to fit on a tablespoon) and place them on the parchment paper. Flatten the balls with the bottom of a glass. The dough tends to stick to the glass, but it can be easily removed with a knife.
7. Place the cookies in the preheated oven and bake on the middle rack for about 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.
8. Allow to cool on a rack, spread one half with the jelly, place another half on top and finally place half a hazelnut with the same jelly on the double-decker cookie.

Conclusion: The salty butter and nuts give these otherwise rather coarse oatmeal cookies a rich, luxurious flavor. The delicately sour, not overly sweet, and slightly tart jelly complements them with a lovely fruitiness without dominating. These are truly delicious cookies, which are best left over from a cookie tin and baked fresh to serve on an Advent plate and eaten quickly...

The hazelnut, almost chocolatey, comes out best when the cookies have cooled for a few hours. Since the oatmeal has a rather strong flavor, I recommend using the hazelnut butter generously in this recipe. However, if you're using the butter in a shortcrust pastry or cream, you'll want to use it sparingly.

Wine pairing: If you prefer wine to tea or coffee, we recommend the Bastardo from Domaine Conceito in the Douro region – it's beautifully fruity yet tart, with plenty of character, but doesn't overwhelm the pastry with heavy tannins or too much body. A great combination!