Lady's Kisses – Baci di Dama, Italian Cookies

These good Italian cookies are called Baci di Dama or Lady's kisses. They're made with simple hazelnut and almond flour cookies sandwiched together with a chocolate hazelnut spread. These pretty little cookies are solid served with coffee after dinner and make great foodie gifts for special occasions!

We saw these cookies everywhere in Italy, in bakeries and bars piled high amongst the flaky buttery pastries, custard filled donuts and beautifully simple cakes.

The thing we love about these lady's kisses is that they aren't overly sweet. They're made with crushed hazelnuts and ground almonds (almond flour) which gives them a wonderful nuttiness and crumbly texture.

They're filled with a modest amount of chocolate hazelnut spread so they don't feel sickly and they go perfectly alongside a coffee. They are also so easy to make and they keep well, two things we love! We don't have much of a sweet tooth so whenever we bake we try to make things that will keep for a few days or longer.

How To Make Lady's Kisses (Baci di Dama) – Step By Step

First, put the hazelnuts on a tray and toast them in the oven for 5 minutes (photo 1).

Let them cool for a minute or two then blitz them in a food processor until they resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add them to a bowl with all the other dry ingredients (photo 2 & 3).

Mix all the dry ingredients together then add the softened butter. Using your hands combine the ingredients together until a dough has formed. Form it into a bowl, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours (photos 4-6).

Once chilled remove the dough from the fridge and using your hands pick up a small amount of dough and pinch it together using your fingers so it sticks together and feels pliable. Roll it lightly between the palms of your hands to form a small 1 inch sized ball (photo 7).

Continue with the rest of the dough placing the balls on a lined baking tray then bake in the oven for 20 minutes, you'll probably need to do this in two batches (photo 8).

To fill the cookies take one cookie and place a small amount of chocolate hazelnut spread in the middle (around 1/2 tsp). Place another cookie on top and press them together to spread the filling out evenly (photos 9 – 11).

Top Tips For Making These Cookies

• Leave the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This helps relax the dough and ensure it's firm enough for rolling.
• When rolling the dough into small balls pick up a small piece of dough and squash it slightly between your fingers.
• Roll it lightly in the palms of your hands. It's important to not use to much pressure or the dough will crumble.
• When the cookies come out of the oven let them cool before touching them as they'll be soft and they need to harden before filling.
• You can also fill these with melted dark or milk chocolate if you prefer.
• Store these cookies on an airtight container for up to 1 week.

More Italian Cookies You Might Like

• Orange Chocolate Cantucci
• White Chocolate and Pistachio Cantucci

Ingredients

Makes 20 cookies

• 2/3 cup (100g) hazelnuts
• 1 cup (100g) ground almonds
• 1/2 cup (100g) demerara sugar
• 2/3 cups (100g) plain flour (all purpose)
• 1 cup (100g) butter (softened)
• 10 tsp chocolate hazelnut spread ((1/2 tsp per cookie))

Method

1. First, put the hazelnuts on a tray and toast them in the oven at 320F (160C) for 5 minutes (photo 1)

2. Let them cool for a minute or two then blitz them in a food processor until they resemble very fine breadcrumbs. Add them to a bowl with all the other dry ingredients (photo 2 & 3).

3. Mix all the dry ingredients together then add the softened butter. Using your hands combine the ingredients together until a dough has formed. Form it into a bowl, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours (photos 4-6).

4. Preheat the oven to 320F (160F). Once chilled remove the dough from the fridge and using your hands pick up a small amount of dough and pinch it together using your fingers so it sticks together and feels pliable. Roll it very lightly between the palms of your hands to form a small 1 inch sized ball (photo 7).

5. Continue with the rest of the dough placing the balls on a lined baking tray then bake in the oven for 20 minutes, you'll probably need to do this in two batches (photo 8).

6. To fill the cookies simply take one cookie and place a small amount of chocolate hazelnut spread in the middle (around 1/2 tsp). Place another cookie on top and press them together to spread the filling out evenly (photos 9 - 11).

Kitchen notes

• Leave the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This helps relax the dough and ensure it's firm enough for rolling.
• When rolling the dough into small balls pick up a small piece of dough and squash it slightly between your fingers.
• Roll it lightly in the palms of your hands. It's important to not use to much pressure or the dough will crumble.
• When the cookies come out of the oven let them cool before touching them as they'll be soft and they need to harden before filling.
• You can also fill these with melted dark or milk chocolate if you prefer.
• Store these cookies on an airtight container for up to 1 week.