Hazelnut Baci di Dama

Baci di Dama are a classic Piedmontese sweet treat. They are made from two round hazelnut cookies, which are joined together with a bit of dark chocolate. Here’s the recipe for you:

Ingredients

• 200 g of roasted and peeled hazelnuts
• 200 g of powdered sugar
• 200 g of butter at room temperature
• 200 g of 00 flour
• 100 g of dark chocolate

Preparation

1. Start by finely grinding the roasted hazelnuts together with the powdered sugar until you obtain a mixture almost similar to flour.
2. In a bowl, work the soft butter with the mixture of hazelnuts and sugar until you get a homogeneous dough.
3. Add the sifted flour and continue to work until you have a compact and uniform mixture. If the dough is too soft, you can put it in the refrigerator for some time to firm up.
4. Take small portions of the dough and form balls about the size of a hazelnut.
5. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure to leave some space between each one.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 °C for about 10-15 minutes or until they are slightly golden.
7. Let the cookies cool down completely.
8. In the meantime, melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or microwave, making sure not to overheat it.
9. Once both the cookies and the chocolate have cooled, take a cookie, spread a bit of chocolate on the flat part, and join it to the flat part of another cookie to form a “kiss”.
10. Allow the chocolate to solidify before serving.

Curiosity

The name “Baci di Dama” refers to the appearance of the sweet, reminiscent of two lips ready to give a kiss. Their origin is contested between the cities of Tortona and Alessandria in Piedmont, and the sweet is appreciated not only in Italy but also abroad.