Cherry Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

I don’t have any vivid memories of my first days of school, except that my mom always managed to have warm freshly baked cookies waiting for us after school to welcome us home.  It was a tradition she had learned from a friend and a tradition I am happy to carry on.

When my daughter came home from her first day of 1st grade at her new school, tears rolled down her cheeks as she was finally able to let go of the emotions she’d been holding in all day.  She hadn’t been able to make any friends, she had been lonely at recess, the cafeteria was too enormous, there were mean kids on the bus…. it hurt my heart to hear it all.  I so much want to be by her side at school, to be there to help her through her struggles, but I need to let go.  Learning to let go is harder than I ever thought it would be.  I pray for her each day and have faith that she will become stronger, more adaptable, and more resilient through these challenges.  While it wasn’t enough to completely wipe away all anxiety, a big hug and these after school cookies provided enough comfort to at least bring a little smile to her face.  Ground hazelnuts, buckwheat flour, and spelt flour give these cookies a nutty complex flavor and the cherry jam is a wonderful sweet complement to the hazelnuts.  These won’t win any beauty contests, but I appreciate their rustic, cracked, and imperfect appearance.  These will keep for a few days at room temperature, but they are also good straight out the the fridge or even the freezer after they’ve become a bit more solid and have a little more chew.  I may not have any control over what happens to my kids during the school day, but at least I can welcome them home with the comfort of cookies .

Cherry Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
• 2/3 cup buckwheat flour
• 2/3 cup spelt flour
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 fine grain sea salt
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces at room temperature
• cherry jam

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the hazelnuts, flours, sugar, and salt and pulse until nuts are very finely ground. Add the butter evenly over mixture and pulse again until dough just begins to come together.
3. Transfer to a lightly floured board and continue working the dough with your hands until dough is cohesive. (If dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to help dough come together.)
4. Taking one tablespoon of dough at a time, form dough into balls and space them at least 1/2-inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use your thumb to create an indent in the middle of each cookie and fill each well with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies darken slightly. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool and then store in an airtight container.

Notes

adapted from Tartine Book No. 3