Everyone knows baci di dama, a Piedmont specialty from the city of Tortona, dating back to the mid-1800s and invented by a chef of the House of Savoy.
Two small slightly crumbly half-spheres of butter shortcrust pastry with hazelnut flour which, once baked, are joined in pairs with a delicious filling of melted dark chocolate, like two lips sealed in a very sweet kiss.
At home we all go crazy for them, so more than once I bought them around, but I wasn’t always satisfied: the only inimitable pastry shop was in Chiavari, in eastern Liguria, but I talk about it in the past because unfortunately it has closed…
So I thought I’d try to make these little sweets myself and I was surprised at how easy they were, contrary to what one might think. Of course, as usual, I had to make a variation on the theme. I discovered that originally BACI di DAMA were made with hazelnut flour, which is easier to find and less expensive than almond flour, and given my love for hazelnuts I didn’t miss the chance to prepare them.
Then, partly for convenience and speed of preparation, and partly because at home I didn’t actually have dark chocolate but, as a good addict, a jar of Nutella, I filled them with this hazelnut cream which in my opinion made them even better because it recalls the hazelnut flavor in the dough, but you are free to replace it with melted dark chocolate.
If you love the classic version of BACI DI DAMA made with almond flour, I refer you to THIS LINK where you will find ingredients and method for BACI DI DAMA according to the ORIGINAL recipe. Although I’m almost convinced that if you try this one you won’t let it go!
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Low cost
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: about 40 baci di dama
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 480.04 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 40.12 (g) of which sugars 21.93 (g)
- Proteins 6.83 (g)
- Fat 33.49 (g) of which saturated 12.68 (g)of which unsaturated 5.65 (g)
- Fibers 1.80 (g)
- Sodium 192.55 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 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
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups hazelnut flour
- 8 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
- vanilla (seeds from one pod)
- to taste Nutella®
Tools
- 2 Baking sheets
Steps
DOUGH PREPARATION
Put the all-purpose flour and cold butter cut into pieces from the refrigerator into the bowl of the food processor.
Turn on the blades until you obtain a sandy mixture.
Add the remaining ingredients: hazelnut flour, sugar, vanilla and salt.
Turn the food processor on again to combine all the ingredients well.
Transfer the mixture to a work surface, shape it into a block, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
After the time has passed, take the dough and divide it into many portions of 7 grams each, from which, by rolling them with your fingers, you will obtain many little balls.
Place them on the baking sheet you will then use for baking (lined with parchment paper) and let them rest again in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
After 60 minutes you are ready to bake the bases of your baci di dama in a preheated static oven at 347°F for 15-17 minutes.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool before removing them from the baking sheet; in this way they will set and will not break when you lift them.
Since they are handmade it is practically impossible that all the bases came out identical so before filling them try to pair those most similar to each other in shape and size.
On one of the two halves, using a teaspoon, spread a teaspoon of Nutella forming a small little mound in the center without overdoing it otherwise when you close them all the filling will come out.
Close the bacio di dama with the other half sphere, being careful not to press too hard.
Continue until you have used up all the ingredients.
Arrange your Nutella baci di dama on a serving plate and serve them perhaps accompanied by a good cup of tea.
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STORAGE
Once ready, Nutella baci di dama can be stored closed in an airtight biscuit tin for up to one week.
NOTES
HAZELNUTS: if you don’t have hazelnut flour you can make it at home. Just pulse in the food processor (intermittently otherwise the hazelnuts release oil) for a few seconds the same quantity of toasted hazelnuts. If your hazelnuts still need to be toasted, spread them on a baking sheet and let them toast in a preheated oven at 356°F until lightly golden. They should not brown too much otherwise they will taste bitter.
FILLING: For my version I chose to fill them with Nutella; of course you can use another hazelnut cream or, if you prefer the classic filling, melted dark chocolate.
REST TIMES: For the success of this recipe the resting times of the dough before and of the half-spheres afterwards are very important; do not skip or shorten them otherwise you would compromise the final result. When you take the dough out of the fridge to form the baci it is normal that it is initially a bit hard and tends to crumble. Don’t worry, it’s normal and once you cut the pieces of dough, roll them in the palm of your hand and the warmth of your skin will make the pastry smooth and pliable again.
BAKING: Before the cookies are fully baked it is important never to open the oven, otherwise the cookies will deflate. Once out of the oven do not touch them until they have completely cooled otherwise they will crumble. When the half-spheres are cold you can remove them from the baking sheet because by then they will have hardened and reached the right consistency.
If, like me, you adore these little sweets you can’t miss the recipe for the legendary cake BACIO DI DAMA by Luca Montarsino.
