Mustachudo (Jon Varsano Recipe)

• Ingredients

  • 3 cups of hazelnuts (filberts)
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 Tbs of honey
  • 1 Tbs of orange zest
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of nutmeg (cloves or allspice may also be substituted)
  • Powdered sugar, as desired
  • Optional
    • 1/2 cup of small semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees
  2. Add hazelnuts and sugar to a food processor and pulse until the mixture is a paste-like consistency.
  3. Mix in zest, honey, and spices. Optional: separate half of the dough and add chocolate chips. I like to make 1/2 the batch with chocolate and half without to appeal to a variety of palettes.
  4. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and add teaspoon-sized drops of cookie dough on paper. Leave approximately 2 inches of space between cookies.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Allow cookies to cool on a cooking rack.
  6. Dust the tops of the cookies with powdered sugar. Use fine sieve for dusting. Serve with tea or coffee, or store in a sealed container.