Baci di Dama, or Lady's Kisses, cookies are absolutely perfect for Valentine's Day! Diminutive, crisp, and nutty Italian hazelnut cookies are sandwiched together with a kiss of bittersweet chocolate.

Please don't confuse these with Ladies' FINGERS cookies (no, I didn't mean Lady Fingers).

I only learned about these cookies recently, and I knew they were a MUST for Valentine's Day. Who doesn't love a Valentine's cookie or chocolate? These are the best of both worlds!

Hazelnut lovers, here are more hazelnut dessert recipes for you:

frosted hazelnut cappuccino bars
chocolate hazelnut ice cream pie
hazelnut cappuccino cupcakes
chocolate hazelnut cookies
chocolate hazelnut cut-out cookies
queenies cookies (like hazelnut pecan sandies)

How to make Baci di Dama Cookies

The cookies start with roasted hazelnuts. Here's a hint: hazelnuts go rancid easily, so if you buy your nuts in advance, pop them in the freezer until you're ready to make the cookies. They can go right from the freezer to the oven.

HINT: Trader Joe's sells already roasted hazelnuts!

Once the hazelnuts are roasty and toasty, pour them into a dish towel and rub as much of the skins off as possible. Do not obsess about this. Those hazelnut skins are tough little boogers (not a word I typically use on a food blog), and you can drive yourself crazy. You'll blitz the nuts in a food processor, and the flecks of skin add color and interest.

The dough is very crumbly and, therefore, has a unique way of being formed into cookies. I tried this a few ways in recipe testing, and what do you know, the traditional way really is the best. The dough gets formed into ropes, wrapped in plastic wrap, and then chilled.

Baci di Dama Cookies - Lady's Kisses Cookies

Working one portion at a time, the dough is sliced from the rope and rolled into small balls.

how to make Baci di Dama Cookies - Lady's Kisses Cookies

Because there are no leaveners or eggs in the dough, the cookies don't change shape much when baked.

Once cooled, they get sandwiched together with just a kiss of melted bittersweet chocolate. Y'all. That chocolate is MAGIC paired with the hazelnut cookies. Absolute magic!

The chocolate needs a bit to set up, then the cookies are ready for the cookie jar or to be packaged and given to friends.

Baci di Dama – Lady’s Kisses Cookies

from bakeat350.net

Diminutive, crisp, and nutty hazelnut cookies are sandwiched together with a kiss of bittersweet chocolate.

YIELD: 32 sandwich cookies

PREP TIME: 45 minutes

BAKE TIME: 10 minutes

1 cup raw hazelnuts (or pre-roasted, unsalted hazelnuts)

1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/3 cup Imperial Sugar Extra-Fine Granulated Sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

[Note: Remove as much of the hazelnut skins as possible, but it’s not necessary to remove every bit. The skins will add flecks of color that make these cookies beautiful and unique.]

Preheat oven to 350. Pour hazelnuts onto a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant. Remove nuts from the pan and place in a dishtowel. Rub vigorously while warm to remove as much of the hazelnut skins as possible. Discard skins and set nuts aside to cool.

Line cookie sheet with parchment. Once the hazelnuts have cooled, place in a food processor with the flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Process until the nuts are finely ground. Add butter chunks and vanilla bean paste and continue processing until the dough starts to clump together. It will still be a bit crumbly.

Dump dough onto a work surface and press together to form a cohesive dough. Use a kitchen scale to divide into four equal portions. Press and roll each portion into a long cigar shape, about 1 inch thick. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Working one piece at a time, unwrap dough and cut into 16 sections using a sharp paring knife. Roll into balls and place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until baked through. Let rest on the baking sheet at least five minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Once the cookies have cooled, melt the chocolate in the microwave at 50% power in 30-second intervals. Stir after each interval. Reduce the time as needed, being careful not to overheat. Let chocolate cool five minutes, then pour into a piping bag. Snip the tip and squeeze a small dollop of melted chocolate onto the bottoms of half of the cookies. Press another cookie on top. Place cookies sideways on the cooling rack to set for 30 minutes before serving.