Let me say there is wattle seed and there is wattle seed, and it all comes down to freshness and the way it is roasted. Until I tasted fresh wattle seed at a wild food cooking competition in Alice Springs many years ago I thought it tasted like stale coffee and wasn’t attracted to it at all. Then I experienced the cooking of Raylene Brown of Kungkas Can Cook, who taught me so much about indigenous ingredients. I love to use wattle seed now and, yes, there is a scent of coffee but it’s nutty and fresh when bought from a good supplier such as Outback Pride. These biscuits really show the flavour off.
Ingredients
- 95 g hazelnuts
- 110 g unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup lightly packed (95 g) soft brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon wattle seed, toasted, cooled and ground
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large free-range egg
- 115 g white spelt flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes, crushed
- 80 g good-quality dark couverture chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
- 10–12 chocolate buttons, to decorate
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan forced). Grease and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
- Place the hazelnuts on one of the baking trays and cook for 8–10 minutes or until golden. Pour into a tea towel and rub off the skins while still warm. Set aside to cool. Reserve 12 of the hazelnuts to decorate the biscuits, then finely chop the remainder.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C (fan-forced).
- Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, ground wattle seed and vanilla for 3–4 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally, until light and fluffy. Add the egg and combine well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until the dough comes together. Stir in the chopped hazelnuts and chopped chocolate until well combined. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, place onto the prepared trays and press down slightly. Top with a hazelnut or a chocolate button. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and stand on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.