The very famous Baci di Dama cookies are originally from Tortona, a small city in the Piedmont Region.
There is not a more sensual and romantic cookie than Baci di Dama. Two small half sphere shaped cookies tied together by a drop of bitter chocolate.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups peeled hazelnuts (or almonds)
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 beaten egg
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup chocolate for the filling
Instructions
- Finely grind the hazelnuts with one tablespoon of sugar.
- In a mixer bowl add the ground hazelnuts, the sugar, and all the other ingredients until the dough is smooth.
- Let the dough rest in the fridge for 10-12 hours.
- Preheat the over to 290F.
- Take out the dough and flatten it with the rolling pin until it is half inch thick.
- With a round cookie cutter (1,5 inches) cut the dough, then roll the round shaped cookies over your hans until you have perfect sphere; put them on a baking pan.
- Bake them for 20/22 minutes; do not let them brown.
- Let them cool down without touching them (they are really crumbly.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave and fill the cookies to give them the famous "kiss" shape!
The story of Baci di dama
Someone says they represent two lovers kissing each other. Someone else says they look like the month of a lady (“dama” in Italian) ready to receive a kiss (“baci” in Italian).
Whatever the meaning of Baci di Dama is, what counts is that they are a perfect treat for your coffee or tea time.
Moreover, the history says that during the fall season of 1852, at the Savoy property, the King Vittorio Emanuele II asked his chefs to prepare something new. The cooks mixed together the ingredients of the territory. Indeed, the very famous Baci di Dama cookies were born.
Tortona is located in a territory where hazelnuts – the very famous “gentile delle Langhe” – and chocolate have a long history in the desserts preparation.
The original recipe calls for hazelnuts as the basic ingredients, even though nowadays we use almonds as well.
Indeed, it was the pastry chef Stefano Vercesi that in 1810 modified the original recipe with almonds. The renovated recipe of Baci di Dama cookies participated at the Fair of Milan in 1906 and won the Gold Medal, the highest recognition at the time.
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Ciao!
Martina and Elisa
