Baci di Dama or Lady’s Kisses from Italy

Baci di Dama oder Damenküsse aus Italien

Baci di dama are heavenly cookies, a touch like a feather. These Italian cookies literally translate as a kiss by a lady. If you look at the profile of these cookies, they look like a set of lips wishing to kiss you. I really like this picturesque name which does tell you a lot what these cookies are going to taste like. Roasted hazelnuts are combined with buttery shortbread, which is sandwiched together by delicious melted chocolate. Baci di dama are perfect as a giveaway, superb for a coffee break and simply to enjoy.

Baci di Dama oder Damenküsse aus Italien

I learned about baci di dama from an Italian colleague. When she brought some to work, I had to check how I could reproduce this delicious treat. I was quite astonished when I found out that they are fairly easy to make. Shortbread dough is just combined with some hazelnuts and then glued together with melted chocolate. Sounds simple enough, I had to give it a try after checking several Italian recipes.

Baci di Dama oder Damenküsse aus ItalienAnd when I started roasting hazelnuts and could smell this delicious flavor in our apartment, I knew that this was going to be good. In fact, this was going to taste great. So I impatiently waited for the first batch to bake. I took out the baking sheet with the freshly baked cookies and immediately got to gluing two together… and then the cookies broke in my hands. Impatience is definitely something I struggle with and in this incident it got the better of me. Since the cookies are super soft when they just got out of the oven, you need to wait until they have cooled off before sandwiching two with some melted chocolate. So please be patient!

Baci di Dama oder Damenküsse aus ItalienBut then, after all that waiting, when I finally was able to bite into my first properly cooled cookie, oh, this was a kiss indeed. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, the smell of roasted hazelnuts, you simply had to eat one more, and another, and yet another. Just the very last one. This is like eating homemade Nutella, but it is so much better than Nutella, you will be in Nutella heaven. I dare to say they taste like Nutella because they do contain so much hazelnuts and chocolate, two main ingredients of Nutella. So please, please give these little treats a try, I am certain you won’t regret it.

Baci di Dama or Lady's Kisses from Italy

Serves: Ca. 40-45 cookies
Cooking Time: 30min preparation + 15min of baking

Baci di Dama or Lady's Kisses from Italy are a buttery shortbread with hazelnuts, which are sandwiched together by melted chocolate.

Ingredients

  • 140 grams of fresh hazelnuts
  • 140 grams of all-purpose flour
  • 100 grams of regular sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 100 grams of cold butter
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 70 grams of semi-sweet chocolate

Instructions

1

Place the hazelnuts on a large baking sheet and roast about ten minutes at 160 degrees Celsius in the oven. Once cool, rub with a tea towel to get off as much skin as possible. If the skin does not get off completely, that's OK. Place in a food processer and grind.

2

Then mix hazelnuts with flour and sugar. Place the butter in cubes on top and rub into crumbs. Add the egg yolk and work into a ball. Wrap ball in plastic wrap and chill for at least half an hour or overnight.

3

Preheat oven to 160 Celsius and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut the dough into three equal parts and roll them each into long logs. Cut off 5 grams for a cookie and roll into a ball. Place about 20 on one baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. They should dome. Let cool completely or they will crack.

4

Melt the chocolate on low heat on the stove stirring constantly or in the microwave and put a little bit one the bottom of a cookie. Sandwich a second one on top. Let cool. These cookies keep for several weeks and develop their flavor after about a week. Be sure to keep in an airtight container, a cookie box is best.

Notes

No idea what to do with the leftover egg white? Check out see this blog post including how to freeze them properly.

Baci di Dama oder Damenküsse aus Italien

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3 Comments

  • Reply
    Thomas
    Wednesday November 20th, 2019 at 03:29 PM

    Hallo Jenny, ich bin sonst eher der stille Geniesser, aber zu diesen Keksen muss ich mich doch mal zu Wort melden.

    Wie kann etwas, das so einfach herzustellen ist soooo gut schmecken ?!
    Habe schon viele Kekse gebacken, aber diese Damenküsse sind mit Abstand die leckersten Kekse und schmecken verboten gut.
    Schon der Duft beim Öffnen der Dose ist betörend und dann erst der Geschmack.
    Das ist Verführung pur.

    Danke für das Rezept.
    Nächste Woche backe ich gleich nochmal die dreifache Menge.

    lg Thomas

    • Reply
      Jenny
      Wednesday November 20th, 2019 at 03:55 PM

      Thomas, so ging es mir auch, danke für dein positives Feedback! ?

  • Reply
    Kathrina
    Wednesday November 30th, 2022 at 09:56 AM

    Ein super leckeres Rezept, liebe Jenny. Die Baci di dama machen sich auf unserem Plätzchenteller ausgesprochen gut.
    Liebe Grüße

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