Name: Baci di dama
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 2 h 8 min
Cuisine: Italian, Piedmontese
Ingredients: 100 g toasted hazelnut flour or very finely ground toasted hazelnuts; 100 g plain flour; 100 g unsalted butter, cold, diced; 100 g caster sugar; 1 pinch fine sea salt; 60 g dark chocolate, 60–70% cacao

Baci di dama: wide hero view of the finished traditional dish

Prep35 minutes

Cook18 minutes

Total2 h 8 min

Yield24 sandwich biscuits

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The dish

About Baci di dama

The biscuits are associated with Tortona in Piedmont. Italia.it links their name to the two halves meeting like lips, while Italian culinary sources trace the older Tortona style to hazelnuts.

The classic proportion is notably simple: equal weights of hazelnut meal, flour, butter and sugar create a short dough with little free water.

Cold handling is the technical control. Warm butter makes the tiny hemispheres spread; chilling shaped pieces lets them keep their rounded profile in the oven.

Chocolate should join, not dominate. A narrow layer is enough to hold each matched pair after the biscuits are fully cool.

Technique

Three things that matter

Use finely ground hazelnuts. A sandy meal gives tenderness without large fragments cracking the domes.
Chill twice if needed. Cold dough holds a compact hemisphere rather than flattening.
Match pairs after baking. Similar diameters produce the characteristic neat “kiss.”

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Biscuits

100 gtoasted hazelnut flour or very finely ground toasted hazelnuts
100 gplain flour
100 gunsalted buttercold, diced
100 gcaster sugar
1 pinchfine sea salt

Filling

60 gdark chocolate60–70% cacao

Step by step

Method

Make and chill the dough

Combine dry ingredients. Mix hazelnut meal, flour, sugar and salt evenly.
No large lumps of nut meal should remain.
Rub in the butter. Work cold butter into the mixture until a cohesive dough forms without prolonged kneading.
The dough should hold when squeezed but remain cool and matte.
Chill. Flatten into a disk, wrap and refrigerate 45 minutes.
The butter should firm enough that the dough cuts cleanly.

Shape and bake

Portion evenly. Divide into 48 pieces of roughly 8 g each and roll quickly into smooth balls.
Uniform weight gives matching domes and identical bake time.
Chill the trays. Arrange balls with space between them and refrigerate 30 minutes while the oven heats to 170°C.
The surface should feel firm, not greasy.
Bake. Bake 15–18 minutes until the bases and edges are pale golden. Cool completely on the trays.
The tops should stay rounded and only lightly coloured.

Sandwich with chocolate

Melt the chocolate. Melt gently and let it cool until slightly thickened but still pipeable.
A drop should hold a small mound rather than run like water.
Match the biscuits. Pair cooled domes by diameter and turn half flat-side up.
Each pair should meet neatly around the circumference.
Join and set. Add a small dot of chocolate to one flat side, press its partner gently in place and leave until firm.
A narrow visible chocolate seam should hold the pair without squeezing out.

Practical guidance

Hazelnuts vs almonds

Almond versions exist, but a hazelnut formulation closely reflects the Piedmont/Tortona identity and regional hazelnut tradition.

Ground nuts

If grinding at home, pulse with some of the sugar to reduce the risk of turning hazelnuts into paste.

Storage

Keep airtight at cool room temperature for several days; flavour often rounds out after the first day.

Troubleshooting

The biscuits spread flat. The dough or trays were too warm. Chill shaped balls until firm before baking.
The dough crumbles. Butter is still too cold or the nut meal is too coarse. Compress gently and allow a few minutes of softening, not extra liquid.
Chocolate squeezes out. It was too warm or too much was used. Let it thicken slightly and use only a small dot.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: 2 sandwich biscuits
Calories: approximately 250 kcal
Carbohydrates: 23 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 17 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sodium: 35 mg

Estimate varies with chocolate percentage and exact biscuit size.

Allergens and food safety

Hazelnuts, wheat, dairy and chocolate are common allergen considerations.

Cool melted chocolate away from splashing water and steam.

Store finished biscuits dry; condensation softens the short texture.

FAQ

Why are they called baci di dama?

The two rounded biscuit halves meet around chocolate like a pair of lips, inspiring the “lady’s kisses” name.

Should they contain hazelnuts or almonds?

Both versions circulate, but hazelnuts have a strong Piedmontese and Tortona association and are used here.

Why is there no egg?

The classic short dough can bind through butter alone; omitting egg helps create the characteristic friable texture.

Final note

What matters most

Result: Neat paired hazelnut domes with a sandy, buttery crumb and a thin dark-chocolate centre.
Key: Keep the equal-proportion dough cold, weigh small pieces consistently and join fully cooled biscuits with only a narrow chocolate seam.