Italian National Dishes
Baci di dama
Last updated: 2026-08-26
Recipe at a glance
Baci di dama
Key recipe details from the source.
- Yield
- 25 biscuits
- Preparation
- 30 minutes
- Cooking
- 20 minutes
- Resting / passive
- 30 minutes
- Total
- 80 minutes
- Approx. energy
- 86 kcal per piece
Piedmont / Tortona
Baci di dama
Baci di dama are small Piedmontese sandwich biscuits made from equal parts hazelnut flour, wheat flour, butter and sugar, then joined in pairs with dark chocolate. Chilling keeps the dough compact so the baked halves retain their rounded shape.
01 · Overview
Overview
The selected Tortona-style formula uses hazelnuts, the nut historically associated with the biscuit, rather than the later almond variation. The dough contains no egg in this version; butter alone binds the flour, sugar and ground nuts.
Shape is controlled before the tray reaches the oven. Keep the dough cool, make 50 equal balls and avoid pressing them flat. Once baked, let the halves cool completely because they are fragile while warm.
Cold dough, neat domes
A short chill limits spreading and helps the paired halves keep a rounded profile.
Use little chocolate
A small dot is enough to join the halves and keeps the biscuit texture dominant.
02 · Ingredients
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 100 g
- hazelnut flour
- 100 g
- plain flour
- 100 g
- unsalted butter cold, diced
- 100 g
- granulated sugar
Filling
- 30 g
- dark chocolate finely chopped
03 · Directions
Directions
Make and bake the biscuit halves
About 70 minutes including chillingMake the dough
Mix the plain flour, hazelnut flour and sugar, then rub or beat in the cold butter until a uniform dough forms.
The dough should hold together without becoming greasy.Chill
Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the butter firms before shaping.
The dough should feel firm enough to roll cleanly.Shape
Divide the dough into 50 equal balls, place them on a lined baking tray with space between them and keep them rounded rather than flattening them.
Equal-sized balls give paired biscuit halves that meet neatly.Bake
Bake in a static oven at 170 °C for about 20 minutes, then cool completely on the tray before moving the fragile halves.
The domes should be set and dry, not deeply browned.
Join the baci
10 minutes plus settingMelt the chocolate
Melt the dark chocolate gently and let it cool just enough to thicken slightly.
It should flow but not run off the flat biscuit bases.Assemble
Put a small dot of chocolate on the flat side of 25 biscuit halves and pair each with another half. Leave until the chocolate sets.
The chocolate should form a thin bond rather than a thick filling.
04 · Control points
Control points
Dough
Firm before shapingIf the butter has softened, chill the dough again before rolling.
Bake
Set, not darkAt 170 °C the biscuit halves should be dry and pale-golden after about 20 minutes.
| Problem | Guidance | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| The biscuits spread too much | The butter was too warm before baking. | Chill the shaped balls briefly before they go into the oven. |
| The halves break during assembly | They were moved while still warm. | Let them cool fully on the tray before adding chocolate. |
05 · Practical
Practical
Make ahead
The baked halves can be cooled and stored airtight before filling; join them when convenient.
Storage
Keep the finished biscuits airtight at cool room temperature for up to 5 days for best texture.
06 · FAQ
FAQ
Can almonds replace hazelnuts?
Yes technically, but that produces the established almond variation rather than the hazelnut version locked here.
Why is there no egg?
The selected La Cucina Italiana formula relies on butter to bind equal quantities of flour, hazelnut flour and sugar.
07 · Nutrition
Nutrition
- Calories
- 86 kcal
- Carbohydrate
- 9 g
- Protein
- 1.3 g
- Fat
- 5.2 g
- Fibre
- 0.7 g
- Sodium
- 3 mg
Approximate values per 1 assembled biscuit. Estimated per one of 25 assembled biscuits from the five locked ingredients, with the batch divided evenly by piece count.