The lady’s kisses are delicious cookies originating from Piedmont, specifically from Tortona.
The two small cookies made with hazelnut flour are joined together by chocolate and resemble two lips about to kiss. A pastry recipe, always appreciated. I prepare them without yeast in a simple way with Grandma Benedetta’s recipe and sometimes gluten-free with the doses indicated below.
SEASONALITY of #nuts #almonds #hazelnuts – available all year round.
Other gluten-free cookie recipes:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 33
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Piedmont
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 74.84 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 6.07 (g) of which sugars 2.89 (g)
- Proteins 1.35 (g)
- Fat 5.05 (g) of which saturated 1.98 (g)of which unsaturated 1.13 (g)
- Fibers 0.94 (g)
- Sodium 12.57 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 14 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
Lady’s Kisses
Gluten-Free Version
For a GLUTEN-FREE shortcrust pastry, use instead of all-purpose flour:
3/4 cup rice flour + 1/5 cup fine corn flour
- 5 tbsp butter (soft)
- 1 1/4 cups almond flour (or peeled hazelnuts)
- 1/2 cup sugar (or less for a less sweet taste)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (for a gluten-free version: 3/4 cup rice flour + 1/10 cup fine corn flour)
- 1/5 cup fine corn flour (FIORETTO or instant polenta)
- as needed vanilla (or almond extract, lemon peel, or Tonka bean)
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 egg yolk (about 0.6 oz)
- 1.5 tbsp water (or less)
- 3.5 oz dark chocolate
Tools
- Bowl
- Plastic Wrap
- Baking Tray large and shallow
- Parchment Paper reusable
- Cutting Board
- Knife with smooth blade
- 1 Bowl or 2 small pans (to melt the chocolate in a double boiler)
- Teaspoon
Lady’s Kisses
Prepare the hazelnut shortcrust pastry
Remove the butter from the fridge.
Chop the peeled hazelnuts in a mixer with a tablespoon of sugar taken from the total, reduce them to a fine flour. Do this operation with short bursts to prevent the oily part of the fruit from oozing out.
In a bowl, place the flours (1 1/4 cups almond flour, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/5 cup corn flour for instant polenta), the sugar, (1/2 cup) the butter cut into pieces (5 tbsp), the preferred flavors, and the salt. Mix everything with your fingertips until the dough becomes sandy. Add the egg yolk and if necessary, a little cold water to get the right consistency.
Transfer the dough onto the work surface and form a smooth and homogeneous ball, wrap it with cling film and let it rest in the freezer for 10 minutes or in the fridge for half an hour.
Divide the dough into small portions of 6-8 grams each, roll them into a ball with your hands, roughly the size of a large hazelnut.
Place the shortcrust pastry balls on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Slightly flatten to flatten the base. Place everything in the fridge to cool and turn on the static oven at 340°F.
Bake the lady’s kisses in a preheated static oven at 340°F for about 15 minutes or until the base of the cookie is slightly golden. Take them out of the oven while they’re still light and very crumbly.
With these doses, I made two separate batches to bake all the cookies.
Assemble the lady’s kisses
Wait for the cookies to cool.
Melt the dark chocolate cut into pieces in the microwave or in a double boiler.
With a teaspoon, place some melted and slightly warm chocolate (if hot it is too liquid and slides away) on the flat part of the cookie and gently cover it with another cookie.
Place the lady’s kisses on a tray or plate to dry and let the chocolate harden, it will take about an hour.
STORAGE of lady’s kisses
Lady’s kisses, like all dry cookies, keep well in a tin box.
Useful and practical TIPS
1. Use almond flour as a substitute for hazelnut flour.
2. The balls must enter the oven well chilled, otherwise, they may flatten.
3. They should be baked at a low temperature because when they come out, they should be soft and difficult to handle. If they bake too long, they become too dark, and the taste changes.
4. Let the baked cookies cool without touching them; once cooled, they become firm.
5. Use melted chocolate when it starts to cool and solidify; if it’s too hot, it’s too liquid and may stain the cookies.
6. Melted chocolate hardens faster in the fridge.
