The key to easy, scrumptious cookies, is good butter! Initially, pastry chef Anita Chu was a structural engineer from Berkeley with a knack for baking. This eventually lead to her working on her “Field guide to cookies.” An adaptation of Parisian pastry chef Arnaud Larher’s, her favorite cookie is the chunky TV snack, or croq- télé. No leavening to lift, no eggs to hold it, she says this cookie is all about the butter!

Ingredients

• ¾ cup hazelnuts or blanched almonds (lightly toast & cool to room temp)
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher or flaky sea salt (if only fine/table is available, use 3/8 tsp.)
• 1 cup flour (all-purpose)
• 7 tablespoons cold butter, unsalted (cut into ½ inch pieces)

Nutritional Information

• • • Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
      91 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram protein; 2 grams saturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 40 milligrams sodium

Note:
The information shown is only an estimate based on the available ingredients and specified preparation. This should not take the place of a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Preparation

1. Place oven racks in the top & bottom third of your oven. Preheat to 325 degrees, and line two cookie sheets with parchment/baking paper.
2. Place your nuts, sugar & salt into a food processor & grind until it’s a fine meal. Beat flour & butter together in a mixer at low speed, until a sandy texture is reached. Add the nut mixture and continue to mix on low until small lumps start to form. Keep mixing until the dough just holds together when pinched between your fingers (don’t use wet fingers or your cookies will collapse).
3. Take a teaspoon of dough & place in your palm. With fingertips, pinch & press until cookie has a pointed top and flat bottom, similar to a rough pyramid. They don’t need to be equal size, nor perfectly smooth. Place on parchment paper, leaving 1 inch of space between.
4. Bake for roughly 15 min, making sure to rotate cookie sheets at the halfway mark. Your cookies should be turning a golden brown at the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack where they can completely cool. Once entirely cooled, they can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.