Dessert: Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Hazelnut Thumbprints

Recipe by Samantha Seneviratne These decadent cookies make the most of their headlining ingredients. The hazelnuts are toasted, which deepens their sweetness and makes them the perfect complement to a luscious dark chocolate and cinnamon pairing.

This recipe includes fertility superfoods such as:

Cinnamon, Nuts

Health and fertility benefits of Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Hazelnut Thumbprints

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060). Nuts are a natural source of Inositol, a derivative of Vitamin B (which is often prescribed in the form of supplements for women with PCOS). Inositol can effectively control the symptoms of PCOS by reducing insulin resistance and improving insulin sensitivity.

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons hazelnuts (2.5 ounces)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sanding or pure cane sugar
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (about 1 cup)

Instructions

Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350 °F. Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet on upper rack, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 10 –12 minutes. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins (don't worry about skins that don't come off) and let cool.
Grind 1/2 cup nuts in spice mill until finely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat granulated sugar and 1 cup butter in another large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low, add dry ingredients, and beat until just combined.
Combine sanding sugar and remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll heaping 1-Tbsp. rounds of dough into balls, then roll in sanding sugar. Arrange balls on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets at least 2" apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until puffed and set but still moist, 10-12 minutes.
Remove baking sheets from oven and immediately make an indentation in the center of each cookie with the small end of a melon baller or the bottom of a rounded 1-tsp. measuring spoon. Transfer cookies on parchment to wire racks and let cool completely.
Finely chop remaining 2 Tbsp. nuts and set aside. Heat chocolate and remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in a small bowl in 10-second intervals in microwave, stirring often, until melted. Transfer chocolate mixture to a small resealable plastic bag and snip a 1/4" hole in one corner. Pipe chocolate into cookie indentations. Immediately sprinkle chocolate with reserved nuts. Let cookies stand until chocolate sets, about 20 minutes.

Add a review for Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Hazelnut Thumbprints