Yummy but different cookies for cookie exchange

[niccig]

A friend called me last week saying she needed to ask me a HUGE favour. I thought she needed help with her kids, turns out she needed help baking cookies for a cookie exchange, as her baked goods never turn out. We did these 2 recipes from Epicurious and they are delicious and easy to make.

Hazelnut Shortbread Sticks
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Hazelnut-Shortbread-Sticks-231311

White Chocolate, Cranberry and Macadamia Cookies
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/White-Chocolate-Cranberry-and-Macadamia-Nut-Cookies-236823

[citymama]

YUM! They sound delicious!

[kijip]

You are a good friend. A very good friend.

Thanks for the recipes.

[WitMom]

Those look yummy. Can I ask a dumb question? Where did you get the hazelnuts?

[tylersmama]

I bought hazelnuts at Whole Foods last year in the bulk aisle. Those suckers were a pain in the patootie to get the skin off of! :p

[niccig]

I bought hazelnuts at Whole Foods last year in the bulk aisle. Those suckers were a pain in the patootie to get the skin off of! :p

She got them from Trader Joes. We toasted them for a few minutes, then put them in a clean dish towel and rubbed the skins off. Some came off really easily, others didn't. So we put those back in the oven for a little longer. We still didn't get ALL the skins off, but enough.

The Hazelnut shortbread was REALLY yummy. Butter shortbread is much stronger in taste and too buttery for me. The Hazelnut was just right, and with the chocolate it tastes like a baci chocolate. MMMMM.....ymmmy.

Neither recipe took a long time, but I prefer to bake one tray at a time in my oven - old thing on it's last legs - so that took a while.