Lady’s kisses with Piedmontese hazelnuts are a classic treat of dry pastries. It is said that they were first prepared by the court pastry chef of King Victor Emmanuel II, who wanted to taste a slightly different pastry. I thank this fairy tale cook every time I prepare lady’s kisses and then taste them and then… it’s enchanting!
Over time, many have gotten into the habit of replacing hazelnuts with almonds, but I’ve never done it. Instead, I continue with the court recipe for lady’s kisses with Piedmontese hazelnuts because, in my opinion, hazelnut and chocolate truly kiss.
Lady’s kisses are also good savory:
Lady’s kisses with turmeric, black pepper, and rosemary – original appetizer for many people
Lady’s kisses with almonds and marjoram. Without butter or eggs
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 516.90 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 41.62 (g) of which sugars 22.42 (g)
- Proteins 8.36 (g)
- Fat 37.11 (g) of which saturated 16.22 (g)of which unsaturated 20.01 (g)
- Fibers 4.04 (g)
- Sodium 8.90 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Lady’s Kisses with Piedmontese Hazelnuts
For about 40 small lady’s kisses.
- 1 1/3 cups hazelnuts (Tonda Gentile delle Langhe)
- 1 cup sugar
- 14 tbsp butter
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 oz dark chocolate (for me, 70%)
- 2 egg yolks
Tools
I always knead with the food processor. You’ll also need a powerful grinder to grind the toasted hazelnuts.
How to Prepare Lady’s Kisses
First, put the shelled hazelnuts in a warm oven (212°F) for at least half an hour, then let them cool. Then, if present, remove their brown skin (it will come off with ease) and grind them until they become a flour (during this operation, I always add a bit of sugar).
Now put flour, hazelnuts, butter, and sugar in the food processor cup. Mix quickly and only at the end add the egg yolks, one at a time and always mixing. You’ll get a fragrant hazelnut shortcrust pastry, a soft dough that needs to rest in the fridge for a few hours. I often leave it in the fridge overnight.
When we take the hazelnut dough out of the fridge, we’ll have a hard block. Place it on the work surface between two sheets of parchment paper, beat it with the rolling pin to spread it a bit and then roll out a dough about half an inch thick. Then cut the dough into regular squares of one or two inches per side. This will help us form many equal balls, which will become as many small perfect kisses. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, well spaced. Then put the baking sheet in the fridge and wait for the balls to become completely cold and compact. Finally, heat the oven to 302°F; when it has reached temperature, bake the sheet and, after five minutes, lower it to 248°F. Let them bake for another quarter of an hour, then turn off the oven and let the kisses cool outside the oven without EVER touching them.
Melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie or, more quickly, in the microwave. Don’t use it hot, instead let it cool until it is just warm, still fluid but thick and creamy. This way we can close the kisses without making a mess and without one half sliding off the other. For this operation, we can use a simple teaspoon or a disposable sac à poche.
When the chocolate has hardened, the kisses will be ready.
Regina’s Secrets
• The first thing to say is that 200 g of butter is the dose of the traditional recipe but it’s a lot. You can reduce it to 160 g: it will be fine and you’ll risk less during baking.
• Making lady’s kisses is very easy…but not simple. There are indeed some delicate steps, which however are essential to obtain nice round balls and not flat little cookies that bear no resemblance to lady’s kisses.
• First of all, it is very important that the balls are all the same size, otherwise you end up having to join many different halves together. Secondly, you must pay attention to the cooling times in the refrigerator, both the one after mixing and the one following the creation of the balls. If you want, you can put the already formed kisses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, I recommend it especially if you use 200 g of butter.
• Finally, for pastries so small, the baking temperature becomes essential: it must not exceed 302°F and must never drop below 212°F. More than baking, lady’s kisses must dry slowly, without browning: this is the only way to achieve a perfect result.
• Lady’s kisses can also be flavored with coffee, by adding a teaspoon of coffee powder to the dough and one to the melted chocolate. They are excellent.
• Those intolerant to lactose can replace the butter with coconut butter: the cookies turn out light and delicious.
Returning to the HOME you’ll find many other recipes, sweet and savory. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram, and you’ll no longer run out of dinner ideas.
Note: This recipe contains affiliate links.
What is Silvia Tavella’s other blog called? And why does she write two?
I write two blogs because they are two completely different things and because one completes the other. This is a recipe book: I love recipes, they are my passion and they inspire me.
Because of them, I started writing short stories and dealing with food culture, since our identity is inextricably linked with the territory where we were born and live, and with the acts of care that cooking brings to the table. In my new blog, you’ll find all this without annoying ads, it’s still called La Regina del focolare and you can find it here:
https://www.lareginadelfocolare.it
