Hazelnut Shortbread Stars

1. Place hazelnuts or pecans into a shallow baking pan, and bake in a 350 degree F oven about 8 minutes or until lightly toasted; cool.

2. Place flour, sugar, and cornstarch into a food processor bowl fitted with a metal blade. Add butter and vanilla; process with several on/off turns until mixture is crumbly. Add nuts and process until mixture is combined but slightly crumbly. Mixture should not be a ball of dough.

3. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a ball.

4. Knead until smooth. Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic wrap, and chill about 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

5. Roll one half of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut dough into stars or rounds with 2-1/2- to 3-inch cookie cutters. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Pierce each cutout three times with a fork, going all the way through to the cookie sheet.

6. Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 12 minutes or until edges and bottoms just start to brown. Transfer to wire racks and cool. If desired, drizzle cooled cookies with melted white baking bar. Makes about 30.