Makes 50

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus resting and chilling

Cook time: 22–24 minutes

Giuseppe says: “Baci di dama are another delicious hazelnut-based creation of Piedmont, where these nuts grow in abundance and of unparalleled quality. The birthplace of the recipe is the city of Tortona, where these biscuits were invented almost two centuries ago. The name is a sensual reference to their typical shape, vaguely recalling a pair of pouting lips, about to kiss. The recipe is very simple, and the best part is that it will fill your kitchen with the intoxicating scent of toasted hazelnuts, one of my most loved flavours in the baking world. Do not skip the resting times in the method as they are critical to produce biscuits of the right shape. The fiddliest part of the process is undoubtedly shaping the biscuits: to preserve their typical crunch, they have to be tiny. Each small ball of dough should be no bigger than one hazelnut in-shell. My technique will produce biscuits of the ideal size. You can make them bigger if you adjust the baking time accordingly, but the texture might suffer. These dainty, elegant biscuits are unmistakably nutty, but if you prefer a more delicate taste, you can swap part or all of the hazelnuts for ground almonds. They are superb if paired with a cup of steaming hot chocolate.”

Ingredients

100g whole blanched hazelnuts
100g caster (superfine) sugar
1/8 tsp salt
150g soft wheat flour or plain (all-purpose) flour
100g cold unsalted butter, diced
1⁄2 medium egg white
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
100g dark chocolate chips or a bar snapped into small pieces (70–75% cocoa solids)

Method

Set the shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 180°C/350°F/ Gas mark 4, unless your hazelnuts are pre-toasted, in which case you can skip this step. Scatter the hazelnuts on a baking tray and toast for 10–12 minutes, shaking the tray midway to ensure an even baking. Leave them to cool completely before moving to the next step.

Once cooled, put the hazelnuts, half the sugar and the salt in the bowl of a food processor and blitz at high speed just long enough to grind the mixture to the texture of fine sand. Use the pulse function, if available, and do not work it for any longer than strictly needed, or the hazelnuts will start leaching out oil, turning the sandy mixture into a pulp.

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the flour, butter, egg white, vanilla and the remaining sugar. Work the mixture by pinching the pieces of butter with the tips of your fingers to break them into very small lumps. Keep working the mixture quickly without crushing it until it resembles fine, loose breadcrumbs.

Once all the butter has been completely incorporated, start crushing the mixture between your hands to form a stiff dough. Shape the dough roughly as a square, wrap it in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.

When ready to shape the biscuits, line two baking sheets with baking paper or silicone mats. Prepare one extra sheet of baking paper on the worktop. Take the dough out of the fridge, place it over the sheet of baking paper and quickly roll it to 10mm (1⁄4in) thickness, trying to keep the shape as square as possible.

Now cut the dough into little squares. The quickest way to do so is to slice it first horizontally into 2cm (3⁄4in) wide strips using a knife or, better, a pastry cutter. Then cut the set of strips vertically into 2cm (3⁄4in) wide squares. Each one will weigh about 4g (1/8oz). Roll each square of dough between your hands to form a small ball, place it on the baking sheet and gently press it with your thumb, just enough to stop it from rolling away. Repeat until all squares have been shaped, spreading the balls across the two trays, about 2.5cm (1in) apart. Place both trays in the freezer for about an hour, or until the dough is completely frozen.

When ready to bake, set the shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 170°C/340°F/Gas mark 31⁄2. Bake one tray at a time for about 11–12 minutes: baci di dama must go directly from freezer to oven, and they should be taken out while still pale; if the tops turn golden, they are overbaked. Check the bottoms as when they are golden, the biscuits are ready. Leave them to cool on the trays and only take them off the baking paper once completely cooled, or they will crumble.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate by microwaving it at full power for 30 seconds. Stir well with a silicone spatula and, if bits of solid chocolate remain, give it subsequent five-second bursts, stirring well between bursts, until all the chocolate is melted. Allow to rest at room temperature for a few minutes to stiffen up. To check whether it is ready, scoop a small amount with the spatula and let it fall back into the bowl: the chocolate is ready when it forms a blob that holds its shape without flowing back into the rest of the chocolate. While the chocolate stiffens up, arrange half the biscuits upside down on a wire rack.

Transfer the chocolate to a small piping bag with a 3–4mm (1⁄4in) opening (no nozzle required) and pipe about 1⁄2 teaspoon of chocolate on each biscuit. You can also simply spoon dollops of chocolate onto the biscuits using 2 teaspoons, although the result might not be as neat. Pair each filled biscuit with its empty counterpart, slightly pressing them together, and place them back on the wire rack to set. Work quickly or the chocolate will set. Make sure the chocolate has hardened fully before taking the biscuits off the wire rack. They will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.

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