WHITE CHOCOLATE CHESTNUT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

They say it’s all about the little things so I say, make a toast to Pret coffees on the house, pack your wardrobe with pretty summer dresses, buy Lego notebooks for your friends, read Italian patisserie recipe books until you feel the urge to bake enough crostata to feed an army, and if all this is still not enough to fill the hole in your heart, then go fill your stomach (it works just as well). May I suggest that you make chocolatey hazelnutty chestnut flour cookies that are so delicious and that you can share with the whole universe as they are vegan and gluten-free and no Oreo-manufacturing Scottish cows were harmed in the process.

At your service.

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHESTNUT THUMBPRINT COOKIES

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

100ml (6 tablespoons) water

80g (1 cup) chestnut flour

100g (1 cup) ground hazelnuts

60g (1/2 cup) rice flour

1 ½ tablespoons cornflour

1 teaspoon GF baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

70g (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) coconut oil

90ml (1/3 cup) agave syrup

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

80g (2/3 cup) chopped hazelnuts

White chocolate filling:

50g (3 tablespoons) chopped vegan white chocolate

35ml (2 tablespoons) soya cream or other non-dairy cream

In a small bowl, mix together ground flaxseed and water and leave aside to set. In a separate bowl, combine chestnut flour, ground hazelnuts, rice flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix together coconut oil, agave syrup and the flaxseed mixture once set. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well until combined. Place dough in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line two cookie trays with parchment paper. Once the dough has chilled, place the chopped hazelnuts in a small bowl. Roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball, then dip and roll around in the hazelnuts, slightly pressing them into the dough. Place on the cookie trays slightly apart, then using your thumb press lightly into the middle of each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes or until the cookies turn golden brown and hold shape. Transfer to a cooling rack and in the meantime prepare the filling.

Place the soya cream on medium heat until it starts simmering, then remove from the heat, add the white chocolate and stir until melted and well combined.
Once the filling has cooled but is not yet setting and the cookies are completely cool, scoop or pipe to fill each cookie indentation. Leave to set then fill your mouth with cookies.