Chocolate Hazelnut Spiced Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups hazelnuts (9 ounces), toasted , loose skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel while still warm, and nuts cooled completely;

1/2 cup all-purpose flour;

3/4 cup sugar;

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process);

1 teaspoon baking soda;

3/4 teaspoon salt;

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon;

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves;

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes;

1 tablespoon grated orange zest;

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice;

1 tablespoon hazelnut-flavored liqueur (preferably Frangelico).

For icing:

1/2 cup confectioners sugar;

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process);

3 tablespoons water;

1 tablespoon hazelnut-flavored liqueur.

Preparation:

Make cookies:

Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle. Butter a large baking sheet.

Pulse hazelnuts, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped, then add butter and zest and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Add juice and liqueur and pulse until dough comes together into a ball but is still crumbly. Form level tablespoons of dough into balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, arranging 1 inch apart on baking sheet.

Bake cookies until puffed and slightly cracked, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Make icing while cookies cool:

Whisk together all icing ingredients until smooth.

Dip tops of cooled cookies into icing and transfer to a wax-paper-lined baking sheet. Let stand until icing is set, about 1 hour.