Raspberry thumbprint cookies

Love is in the air............
I believe that there's love inside every person and the word exists in every language. Malayalam - Premam ,Tamil - Kaadhal ,Hindi - Ishq, French - Amour,German - Liebe ,Spanish - Amor, Italian - Amore, Chinese - I .
Hmmmm!................. I've run out of languages. Can't think of anymore. Just hoping that the ones I've mentioned atleast are right .

If there's a day to celebrate love, why not. Causes no harm to anyone. It's fun.
People have varied views about Valentine's day. Many think it has become a purely commercialized thing. I agree. But, it does not have to be expensive gifts and extravagant displays. Even something simple and sweet will say it all. So, I planned to do a special little something for my sweetheart. I decided to bake my love :) . Made these cookies in advance for hubby dear. And I didn't want to be too cheesy in making heart shaped stuff. So, I drew inspiration from a picture in a cookbook and put each cookie in small, delightful, fluted cupcake-cups. (I was lucky to have found some that matched the color of the jam). Doesn't the pic look adorable? Cute as a button I thought.

Happy valentine's day to all the Romeo-s and Juliet-s out there. Have a fun-filled and romantic day and year ahead. Let me know what you think about Valentine's day.
So, what are you doing for your loved ones??? Just inquisitive ...... ;)

Ingredients :( makes about 20 cookies)

• Hazelnuts( toasted and skinned) - 3/4 cup ( can be substituted with toasted almonds or walnuts or pecans)
• Sugar - 1/4 cup
• Room temperature butter - 3/4 stick (85 gms)
• Vanilla extract - 1 tspn
• Salt - 1/8 tspn
• All-purpose flour - 3/4 cup and 2 tbspns
• Raspberry jam - 1/4 cup ( can be substituted with any jam you have at hand)
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C)
• Take 1/4 cup of hazelnuts and chop them into tiny bits and spread them on a sheet of wax paper or a plate. Set aside.
• In a food processor, process the remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts and sugar until finely ground.
• Add butter, vanilla and salt to the hazelnut-sugar mixture and process again till blended.
• Add flour and blend till everything is well combined.
• Transfer dough from the processor into a medium bowl and press it together with your hands.( be cautious of the processor blade)
• Take 2 tspns of dough in your hand and shape into 1-inch balls( dough maybe slightly crumbly. If it is too crumbly and you are unable to form a ball off it, add a tspn of milk to the mixture)
• Roll the ball in the nuts that were spread on wax paper or plate.Gently press nuts into the dough.
• Do the same with the rest of the dough and place about 1-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• With your finger tip, very gently make a small indentation in the middle of each ball. Fill each dent with 1/4 tspn of jam and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 16-18 mins until golden brown round the edges. ( If you are making smaller cookies, baking time should be decreased. Otherwise the cookies will get burnt)
• Cool on a wire rack.
• Once cooled, you can place each cookie in individual fluted cups to give it that special look.

Have fun!

Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha