This amazing cookies are originally from Piedmont, a region in the north-west Italy.
The most important ingredient of these delicious traditional cookies is the hazelnut. One of the excellence from Piedmont is the Nocciola Tonda Gentile delle Langhe (o Trilobata).The literal translation of the name of these cookies is “The Lady kisses”. It seems this name was chosen because of their shape, reminiscent of two lips kissing united by chocolate.
The soft but crunchy texture of this cookies, together with their intense flavor of hazelnut and chocolate are a real experience.
Ingredients
- 250 gLight muscovado brown sugar
- 250 gpure butter
- 200 gground roasted hazelnut (type 0)
- 200 gwhite spelt flour (or white type 0)
- 200 gdark chocolate (or spreadable chocolate-hazelnut cream)
- 120 grice flour
- 1egg
- 11/3 teaspoonground cinnamon
Preparation
– take the butter out of the fridge, and wait till it reaches room temperature;
– sift the spelt and the rice flours onto a large bowl;
– pour the ground hazelnuts;
– add the sugar and mix well;
– add the ground cinnamon and mix well;
– add the room-temperature butter and the egg;
– knead well with your hand till all ingredients are amalgamated together and you obtain a smooth dough;
– obtain 4 cylinder of about 2 cm diameter;
– wrap and seal them in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour;
– take the cylinders of pastry out from the fridge and cut pieces of about 2cm width;
– take a piece of pastry and roll it in your hands to shape a ball;
– put the balls of pastry on a baking tray folded with baking paper;
– bake at 150 degrees for about 15 minute or till lightly golden (the cookies must not overcook!);
– allow the biscuits to cool down on a wire cooling rack;
– In a clean, dry bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate until smooth (if you use spreadable hazelnut-chocolate cream then avoid this step);
– put a chocolate chip-sized dollop of soft chocolate on the bottom of one cookie, then take another cookie and sandwich the two halves together;
– repeat the above step till you finish all the cookies;
– once ready, set all the Baci di Dama sideways on a wire cooling rack until the chocolate is firm;
Storage: The Baci di Dama should be stored inside an airtight container, at room temperature and for up to one week.
