Baci di Dama Cookies (Hazelnut Kisses)

from ButterYum

makes about 45 itty bitty cookies

Ingredients

• • 1 1/4 cups (140g) hazelnuts, skinned

  • 1 cup (140g) rice flour (or all-purpose flour)

  • 3 !/2 ounces (100g) unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into cubes

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)

  • pinch of fine salt

  • 2 ounces (55g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

• 1. In a food processor, pulse hazelnuts until finely ground (David says they should be the consistency of coarse polenta).

  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a BeaterBlade or paddle attachment, combine the nuts, rice flour, butter, sugar, and salt until no traces of butter remain; cover well with plastic and chill until firm (1-3 hours).

  3. Preheat oven to 325F and line two half sheet pans with silicone silat liners.

  4. Use a digital scale to weigh out 5-gram blobs of dough and roll into a 3/4-inch marble-size balls

  5. Evenly space up to 40 balls of dough on each of the prepared pans; bake one pan at a time for 10-14 minuets or until the cookies are lightly browned.

  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on pan.

  7. in a glass, heatproof bowl, gently melt chocolate in microwave in short 10-15 second bursts, stirring well after each burst; allow to cool for a few minutes before proceeding.

  8. Transfer the melted chocolate to a disposable pastry bag and cut a very small hole in the bag (or use a heavy-duty zip-top freezer bag).

  9. Pipe a chocolate chip-sized blog of melted chocolate on the flat side of one baci half and top with another to make a sandwich cookie (to keep bottoms level while adding melted chocolate, nest it in a bed of granulated sugar - this will keep the melted chocolate from drizzling out the side of the sandwich before it sets); allow chocolate to set up completely before moving.

adapted from David Lebovits and Terresa Murphy