Hazelnut Linzer Cookies with Date Caramel

A new holiday staple, these easy and festive Hazelnut Linzer Cookies with Date Caramel are a deliciously wonderful treat for Santa and all his crew - reindeer included!

The holidays tend to be bittersweet for me. I realize how fortunate I am and I'm beyond thankful for all that I have - a loving family, solid friends and the necessities and niceties that we often take for granted. But I am constantly thinking of those who don't - and there are so many. This breaks my heart year-round, but more so around the holidays.

When I was still a wee one, I made three decisions from which I have yet to waiver - no children, live within/below my means and be of service. They were my childish hopes for making the world a better place and are perhaps what made some adults see me as an old soul. You can thank my grandparents for my commitment to service and those so-called 'save the children' ads for the the other two.

Volunteering is a part of my fabric - from soup kitchens to hospitals to addiction centres - giving of my time and whatever else I am able to, helps me feel whole. So naturally, I am drawn to people of the same fabric. One such person is a colleague, whose personal commitment to community outreach is a constant inspiration.

In a large part to his credit, we have started a tradition at work, where we choose a charity, or charities, to support each year. Our activities are not limited to Christmas and generally involve giving of our time, more so than money. Earlier in the year, staff spent a combined full day at a shelter assisting in a number of areas, from prepping and serving meals to sorting donations and most importantly, interacting with the users of these services.

At the behest of my physician, I could not attend - apparently a weakened immune system trumps charitable work. BUMMER! 🙁

This month, I was super excited to be able to participate in the Shoebox Project with my colleagues. It was created to help brighten the lives of the women using shelters and remind them that, like all women, they matter. Shoeboxes are decorated and filled with items valued at $50+ and delivered in time for the holidays to shelters across Canada and the United States.

We all brought in our shoeboxes and learned a little about each other's spending habits in the process (yes, men spend as much, if not more, in at least a couple instances, on shoes...) SHOCKER!! A number of themes were provided and we got to shopping, filling and wrapping our way to touching a few deserving hearts.

It felt great to be among my colleagues doing something that matters - because feeling sorry for one's self gets old quickly - and in case you didn't know, I am like a kid in a candy store when given pretty paper and scissors! So, as much as these boxes filled with items most of us may take for granted will benefit a few special someones, I really feel like I benefitted a great deal more. So for that, I send a great big thanks and hugs to RC, JP and the rest of my colleagues.

Oh, and these Hazelnut Linzer Cookies with Date Caramel were on hand to fuel our shoe-boxing efforts! Here's a quick Instagram video on how I made the date filling - it is wonderfully delicious in anything from smoothies to baked goods, or straight out of the blender (my personal preference)!

https://www.instagram.com/p/4dYh_4n2tH/?taken-by=isugarcoatit

If you are having difficulty viewing the video, try here.

You will need:
star cookie cutters
plain piping tip
silpat mat or parchment paper
sieve

Hazelnut Linzer Cookies with Date Caramel

A holiday staple, these easy and festive Hazelnut Linzer Cookies with Date Caramel are a deliciously wonderful treat for Santa and all his crew - reindeer included!

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Servings: 30

Author: I Sugar Coat It

Ingredients

Date Caramel:

• 150 grams dates about 1 cup
• 125 grams water ½ cup
• 6 grams vanilla bean paste 1 teaspoon

Cookies:

• 112.5 grams icing sugar just under a cup
• 225 grams butter 1 cup
• 2.5 grams cardamom 1 teaspoon
• 2.5 grams orange zest ½ tablespoon
• 2 eggs
• 5 grams baking powder 1 teaspoon
• 2.5 grams salt ½ teaspoon
• 325 grams pastry flour 3 cups
• 100 grams ground hazelnuts 1 cup
• icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

To make the date caramel:

• Add water and dates to a high-powered blender and blender. This will produce a thicker consistency that the 1:1 ratio I used previously.

To make the cookies:

• Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until softened, using the paddle attachment.
• Add sugar, cardamom and zest and cream together on low speed.
• Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides after each addition.
• Sift together baking powder, salt and flour and stir in hazelnuts.
• Add to the butter mixture and and use the stir setting on your mixture to incorporate, or fold in by hand. Chill the dough until ready to use.
• Roll out chilled dough and use a small star cookie cutter (or other shape of your choice) to cut out 30 cookies. Use a piping tip to cut a hole in the center of half the cookies - in this case 15.
• Place on a parchment or silicone lined tray and bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool completely, then dust the cookies with the holes with icing sugar - these will become the top of the sandwiched cookies.
• Prepare a cornet (paper cone), add date caramel and cut a small opening at the pointed tip. Pipe a pea-sized dot on the base of the cookie and top with sugar-dusted cookie.

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