Baci di Dama
Sweet, delicate, and irresistibly delectable, these stuffed cookies are an Italian treat worth celebrating. Baci di Dama, or lady’s kisses, are a classic northern Italian delicacy that are sure to become a new tradition in your home.
‘Tis the season for all things cookies! It’s that time of year when the sweet scent of baking perfumes the entire house. Whether you’re cutting out Festive Sugar Cookies or filling these sweet confections, it’s the perfect time of year to try something new.
Ingredients
While these Baci di Dama are almost too cute to eat, they’re both easy to make and easy to shop for. The delicate and crispy cookies are perfect for sandwiching your favorite creamy and dreaming fillings.
- Butter – Adds richness to the cookies while also helping them bake up golden and slightly crisp.
- Sugar
- Almond Meal – These Italian cookies are traditionally made with hazelnut meal or flour, but almond flour is more readily accessible. It gives them a delicate flavor and texture.
- Flour
- Salt – Enhances all of the flavors of the ingredients.
- Egg White – Binds the cookie dough together without making it too heavy.
- Nutella – This classic chocolate-hazelnut spread compliments the nutty flavor of the cookies.
- Biscoff Spread – This cookie butter has warm spice flavors similar to gingerbread. The texture is comparable to peanut butter, making it ideal for filling these cookies.
How to Make Baci di Dama
While these cookies aren’t difficult to make and are an idea cookie recipe to get your kids into the kitchen and have fun with, there are a couple of steps to the process. Allowing the cookie dough to chill before forming allows the butter to reharden and the cookies to bake up in their sweet, cute domed shape.
Time needed: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Delicate almond cookies are filled with festive Nutella and cookie butter.
- Butter
Add the softened butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and mix until it’s just combined.
- Mix
Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined and the dough comes together. You can use your hands for this to prevent over working the dough.
- Chill
Wrap the cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap and allow it to chill for an hour in the refrigerator.
- Prep
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Form
Roll out your cookie dough. Cut out about 1/2″ squares and roll into even sized balls. You can also use a 1/2″ scoop for this. Place the balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake
Bake your cookies for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden.
- Cool
Allow the cookies to cool for at least ten minutes before filling. This will prevent your fillings from melting.
- Finishing Touch
Use a piping bag to add a dollop of Nutella or Biscoff spread to the bottom of a cookie. Sandwich another cookie on top. Continue until all of the cookies are filled.
Variations
This recipe for Baci di Dama utilizes almond meal. However, you can use the traditional hazelnut flour, or other types of nut flour such as pistachio and pecan. In addition, you can switch up the fillings. Use your favorite melted chocolate to fill these, from dark chocolate to silky white chocolate.
Tools
- Mixing Bowl
- Baking Sheet with Parchment Paper – Using parchment paper to line your cookie sheets not only helps prevent your cookies from sticking, but also helps them more evenly brown. In addition, it makes for easy cleanup!
- Piping Bag – This makes it easy to fill your sandwich cookies. If you don’t have a piping bag or disposable piping bags, you can use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off.
Storage
Is there anything better than a filled cookie jar? While these sweet little confections are guaranteed to disappear fast, they will keep for a week in an airtight container. In addition, the dough can be made ahead of time, wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated, and then rolled out and baked the next day.
Top Tip for Baci di Dama
Skip the mixer and use your hands. This dough comes together quickly when you make sure that your butter is at room temperature. Mixing with your hands or a spatula will prevent the flour from being overworked, keeping these cookies delicate.
Baci di Dama
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 cookie pan
- parchment paper
- 2 piping bags
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup almond meal/flour
- 3/4 cup flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg white
- Nutella, for filling
- Biscoff Spread, for filling
Instructions
- Add the sugar and butter to a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Add the almond meal, flour, egg white, and salt to a bowl and mix until just combined and the dough comes together.
- Place the dough into plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Allow it to refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough out into even thickness. Use a sharp knife to cut out even 1/2" strips. Roll into even sized balls.
- Place the balls of dough on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add Nutella to a piping bag. Add the cookie butter to another piping bag.
- Pipe a dollop of one of the spreads onto the bottom of a cookie. Top with another cookie.
- Repeat the process until they are all filled, alternating flavors.
