CHOCOLATE WALNUT TRUFFLE COOKIES

FOR THE DOUGH:
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (60grams) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (170 grams) packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) white sugar
1/3 cup (36 grams) chopped walnuts (hazelnuts)
1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE TRUFFLE MIXTURE:
8 ounces (225 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (116 grams) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons (28 grams) cognac or brandy

TO MAKE THE DOUGH:
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a mixing bowl; set aside.

Combine the sugars and walnuts in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until the nuts are finely ground, about 15 seconds. With the machine running, add the butter continuously through the feed tube. Add the vanilla and continue to process for a few seconds more, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture and process for about 15 seconds to form a ball of dough. At this point if the dough is really soft chill briefly in refrigerator to firm up.

WHEN READY TO BAKE:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Roll each half out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles (to make miniatures use a one inch round cookie cutter). Repeat the process until all the dough has been used.

Bake for about 10 minutes (about 8 minutes for miniatures) until the cookies are beginning to crack lightly on top. Let cookies cool on sheets for five minutes and then transfer to racks to cool.

TO MAKE TRUFFLE MIXTURE:
Put chocolate into a medium mixing bowl.

In a small saucepan bring the cream to boil over medium heat. Pour over chocolate, wait a few minutes, and then stir until chocolate is fully melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in the butter and then cognac. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes (thick enough to put in a pastry bag and pipe).

TO ASSEMBLE THE COOKIES:
Put cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Put your truffle mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 4B pastry tip and pipe a large star onto each cookie. Alternatively you can simply put a 1 teaspoon mound of chocolate in the center of each cookie. For added decoration you could place on the truffle mixture a walnut half or hazelnut. Chill cookies.

If you have truffle mixture left over you can make truffles by forming small balls with the chilled mixture. Can roll the truffles into cocoa powder, nuts, coconut.

Makes 48 truffle cookies
Adapted from source: The Complete Cookie by Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey