Are you a hazelnut (aka filberts) fan? I’m sort of on the fence. I like the aroma of brewed hazelnut coffee but can’t really get into the flavor.
This cookie may be the start of something that changed my mind. The hazelnuts are untoasted and unskinned, which is a little unusual. RLB’s reason is that it gives a more “robust falvor” and the cookies do not get as dark from the toasted nuts. I agree.
One ingredient that was a little unusual was cardamom. It does not overcome any of the hazelnut flavor but does add something that is a bit of an “unknown”. The cookies have a nice crisp bite to them, not crunchy but a crumbly bite with just a little hint of the chew of the nut. (The nuts are ground fine and mixed with the flour to sort of make it a hazelnut flour effect.)
Oh, and they do smell wonderful when baking. Not quite the same as the hazelnut coffee effect, but good in it’s own right.