So at three o'clock on Sunday I thought, "I NEED a biscuity something."
I was in a contrary mood. Couldn't be bothered to make macaroons, always my first choice. Didn't feel like melting moments. Could have gone a cupcake but (as you can see) that can be a long process in my house. So these crescents were invented to fill the gap.
They took 20 minutes to make and 10 to bake. They are moist and dense rather than crunchy, a bit like ricciarelli or amaretti morbidi (soft amaretti) but instead of an almond/marzipan flavour they are strongly hazelnutty with a coffee undertone - a rich mix of flavours.
They smelled rather nice when in the oven so even Jade (Mr Cupcake) had his eye on them as soon as they came out, and he's not much of a sweet tooth.
This is an original Dr Cupcake recipe!
200g ground hazelnuts
100g chopped hazelnuts
200g icing sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp apricot jam
1 tsp coffee flavoring (I used cafe trablit)
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp milk
Preheat the oven to 160C. Mix the icing sugar and ground hazelnuts together. Make a well in the centre and add the jam and one beaten egg, stirring to combine, then add the coffee flavoring. You should have a fairly moist mixture that you can ball up and shape with your hands. If your mixture is too sloppy, add more nuts and sugar; if it's too stiff, add a little more beaten egg.
Break off walnut-sized pieces of the dough and roll them into sausages, using a little sugar to stop them sticking to your hands. Using a pastry brush, paint the top of each sausage with the reserved beaten egg and roll it in the chopped hazelnuts to coat. Bend the roll into a crescent shape and place on a buttered baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, the biscuits should be soft but firm and starting to brown at the edges when they're cooked.
As they are cooling, heat the milk and stir the caster sugar in to dissolve.
Paint this mixture on the tops of the crescents to make them develop a slight shine.
Be careful not to move them until they are cool because they need to firm up while cooling.
Store in an airtight container between layers of baking paper.
Enjoy!
