Recipe: Pear cobbler with hazelnut biscuits

 

Pear cobbler with hazelnut biscuits

Total time: 40 minutes, plus at least 1 hour chilling time

Servings: 8

Hazelnut biscuits

1 3/4cups cake flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup skinned, roasted and coarsely chopped hazelnuts

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into pea-size bits

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup hazelnut liqueur

1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur

3 tablespoons finely chopped hazelnuts

1 1/2 tablespoons coarse-grain or granulated sugar, for sprinkling

1. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and coarsely chopped hazelnuts in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, a mixer with the flat beater attachment or your fingertips, work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in the cream and hazelnut liqueur to form a soft dough.

2. Knead for just 10 seconds, then lightly flour the dough and pat it out to 1-inch thickness on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for 1 to 8 hours.

3. Heat the oven to 375 degrees, placing a rack in the middle position. Uncover the dough and use a round cutter to cut out 2 1/4-inch biscuits. Pat the scraps together and recut to make a total of 8 biscuits. Arrange them at 2-inch intervals on a nonstick or parchment-lined baking sheet.