Indulge one last time: German nut triangles

The year 2012 is coming to an end and I have many many many resolutions for 2013, in fact too many and  am sure that half will be cancelled from my list my January 3rd. One of the biggies on my agenda is: TA-DAAA weight loss. Who would have thought?! So, I indulge one last time today and will end the year 2012 with German nut triangles - a yummy winter treat. I guarantee that this delicious pastry will be the first to disappear at any new year's party. And here is what you need:

For a baking sheet: (40x30cm or 16x12 inches)
sunflower oil to grease baking sheet

For the pastry:
225 g  or 2 1/4 cups plain four
1 teaspoon baking powder
100g or 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 drops vanilla essence
1 egg
1 egg yolk
100 g or 3/8 cups butter (softened) 

For the topping: 

2 tablespoons of apricot marmalade

150 g or 3/4 cups brown sugar

150 g or 3/4 cups butter

8 drops vanilla essence

3 tablespoons of water

200 g or 7 ounces flaked hazelnut kernels

100 g or 3 1/2 ground hazelnut kernels

For the coating:

200 g or 7 ounces of milk chocolate

SHORTBREAD PASTRY

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/350 degrees fahrenheit.
• Mix flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients, work first with kneading hook, then stir with electrical mixer (highest setting) until the dough is smooth, roll it out on the greased baking sheet.

TOPPING

• spread the jam on the dough, in a pot melt butter and with sugar, vanilla essence and water, stir it well. Add the hazelnut mix and stir again. Let is cool down for a few minutes and spread it evenly on the dough.
• Bake everything for about 25 minutes.
• Let the pastry cool down for at least one hour otherwise you cannot cut it well, the pasty will break and all your work is lost in crumbles.
• Once cooled down, cut the pastry into squares (circa 4 cm or 2 1/2 inches wide) and then diagonally into triangles.

COATING

• Chop the chocolate and melt it in bain-marie. Make sure you have the stove on low heat only, otherwise the chocolate will burn. Stir continuously. 
• Dip the corners of the nut triangles into the chocolate and let cool again. 

Don't worry if the chocolate corners are irregular, the taste is so delicious that nobody will care about the look. 

This German treat was the highlight of an Italian family dinner we had a few weeks ago, and I am sure it will have the same wow-effect at our party tonight. 

Happy New Year!!!!!