- In a microwave-safe bowl melt the chocolate chips by heating it in 10-15 second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted.
- Sandwich two cookie halves with about 1 tsp of chocolate and allow to set for about 30 minutes before serving.
How to Roast and Peel Hazelnuts:
If you aren’t able to find peeled hazelnuts, they peel easily after roasting. The best way to roast hazelnuts is to spread them on a baking sheet and bake @ 325F for about 12-15 minutes, tossing often. Start checking on them from around 10 minutes and remove them when they’re to the desired doneness.
To peel the hazelnuts: remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Transfer the nuts to a ziplock bag and rub them from the outside to remove the skins. Now shake the bag until all skins fall to the bottom. Remove the nuts from the bag leaving the skins behind.
Italian Cookies – Baci di Dama
Italian Cookies Baci di Dama are made with two melt-in-your-mouth hazelnut cookies which are held together with some good dark chocolate.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
- Cook Time: 15 minutes mins
- Chilling time: 1 hour hr
- Total Time: 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
- Servings: 20 sandwich cookies
How to Make Italian Cookies
- Line 2 baking sheet pans with parchment paper, set aside. Pulse the hazelnuts in a food processor or a coffee grinder until mostly flour-like with some pieces that still retain texture.
- In a large mixer bowl whisk together ground hazelnuts, flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter, vanilla extract and mix until a dough forms with no visible butter chunks.
- Using a small ice cream scoop, portion the dough into about 2 teaspoon chunks, then roll each one into a ball. You’ll get about 40 dough balls. Set Italian cookies onto the prepared baking sheet about 1.5 inches apart. Slightly tap on top of each hazelnut cookie ball to flatten. See *recipe notes* for how to shape and bake smaller sized cookies.
- Chill cookies in the fridge for 1 hour. About 45 minutes into it, preheat the oven to 325 degrees with the baking rack in the middle. Bake cookies for about 17 to 18 minutes, or until just starting to brown on top. Remove from oven and cool completely.
How to Assemble Italian Cookies
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips in 10 to 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally until the chocolate chips have melted half way (about 2 minutes). Then, continue stirring until the rest of them have melted completely.
- Spread 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the bottom half of the cookies. Cover with the other half and press to adhere. Allow to sit undisturbed until the chocolate has set, about 30 minutes.
To Make Gluten Free Italian Cookies:
Replace the all-purpose flour (1 cup) and the cornstarch (4 Tbsp) with the same amount of rice flour (1 cup 4 tbsp).
