White Chocolate Almond Lemon Cookies

Yes, you can use the same amount of ground hazelnuts for a different nutty flavor, or simply replace them with 50 g extra flour if you want to skip nuts. The almonds add a tender, slightly rich crumb, so the cookies will be a little plainer without them. Keep the rest of the recipe as it is.

You can mix the dough, wrap it well and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to roll and cut. Cold dough is actually easier to handle because the butter stays firm. Flour it lightly as in the recipe and you may need a few extra minutes of baking if the cut cookies go into the oven very cold, so just watch for that light golden color.

Let them cool completely on a rack, then keep them in an airtight tin at room temperature. This protects the lightly crisp outside while the center stays soft. Layer them with parchment paper if you stack them, so the white chocolate bits do not stick together.

Most likely the dough was overmixed. Once the egg, milk and lemon zest go in, you only want to mix until the dough just comes together, because working it too long makes the cookies dense. Warm butter can also cause trouble, so use it cold and rub it in quickly.

Sure, you can use the same 80 g of dark or milk chocolate chunks or chips. Dark chocolate will make the cookies less sweet and give the lemon a bolder contrast, while milk chocolate stays closer to the creamy feel of the original. Fold it in at the same point, right after the dough comes together.