Crunchy Nut Cookies with White Chocolate Ganache

Tis the season to be baking- so here we are with an absolutely fabulous, melt-in-the-mouth recipe for a cookie- not just a cookie, but a cookie covered with nuts and jammed with chocolate ganache.

Irresistible, what say?

Ingredients

• FOR THE COOKIES
• Egg yolk, beaten- 1
• Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
• Plain flour- 280gm
• Butter, softened- 225gm
• Pine nuts, chopped- 40 gm
• Caster Sugar- 140gm
• Salt- 1 pinch
• FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
• 100gm white chocolate
• 2 tbsp double cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C or 375F.

Line 2 baking trays with parchment or greaseproof paper.

For the cookies

Put the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon.

This takes the better part of 10 minutes, so keep beating do not give up. You will slowly find the mixture changing into a more homogeneous soft mixture, rather than the bits of sugar poking out from the butter.

Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.

Sift the flour and salt into this mixture and stir till well combined, till you get a soft dough.

Scoop up tablespoons of the dough and roll into balls. Put half of these on one of the baking trays with about an inch or 1 1/2 inch between them to let them spread. Flatten gently on the top.

Spread out the chopped nuts into a dish and dip one side of the remaining dough balls into them. Then place the mon the other baking tray, nut side on top, and flatten gently.

Bake these for 10-15 minutes or till cookies start browning on the side. The cookies should be a light golden brown in colour.

Leave them to cool on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack, to cool completely.

For the Ganache

To make the ganache, pour the cream into a pan. Add the chocolate and melt over a low heat. Keep stirring, until smooth.

Remove the pan from fire and let cool. Refrigerate in the fridge till the mixture gets a spreadable consistency.

For the Finishing

Take the cookies from the first baking tray, the plain ones and flip them over, so that the flat side is on top.

Spread the ganache over these cookies and top with the remaining cookies that have nuts on them.

They look absolutely fabulous- and they taste.. should I even say it?

Bake them, pack them and gift them!

They make for the poshest  Christmas gifts ever.

Now that I have you properly tempted, go get baking!