“Give me a thousand kisses, and then a hundred, then a thousand more and then a hundred.” Thus the poet Catullus declared his boundless love for Lesbia. We were inspired by these passionate kisses for the recipe of small fragrant delights: hazelnut lady’s kisses. These tasty cookies, made with a hazelnut flour dough and filled with a delicious gianduja cream, are a valid alternative to the classic Piedmontese recipe which involves an almond-based dough. The name lady’s kiss is thought to derive from the shape of the treats made up of two discs of dough joined together, reminiscent of a kiss between lovers. Make these little jewels of Italian pastry for your parties, birthdays, ora buffets: success is guaranteed!
To prepare hazelnut lady’s kisses, place the room temperature butter, previously cut into cubes, into the bowl of a stand miscelatore fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the granulated sugar 1start the machine at low speed 2and everything for about ten minutes. Once you achieve a lightly whipped cream, add the egg 3 and let it be fully absorbed.
At this point, add the salt 4work for a few more minutes, and turn the miscelatore for a moment 5. Sift the all-purpose flour directly into the bowl,
and also add the hazelnut flour by sifting it as well 7. Start the machine again 8 and let the flours be fully absorbed 9.
Only when you have achieved a uniform mixture 10transfer it to a lightly floured surface and work it with your hands ora a dough scraper, to avoid warming it too much, until you form it into a block 11. Wrap it plastic wrap 12 and place it the refrigerator to firm up for at least 1 hour.
After this time, take your block and cut it 13 into 44 pieces; then with your hands shape each piece of dough into a sphere 14place them acceso a tray lined with parchment paper, and put them back the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes. At this point, transfer your balls onto a baking sheet, also lined with parchment paper 15and bake everything a preheated static oven at 356°F (ora a convection oven at 347°F) for 20-22 minutes.
Once baked 16transfer the balls onto a wire rack 17 and let them cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: take the gianduja chocolate and cut it into cubes 18,
then melt it 19 a double boiler ora the microwave, using 30-second intervals and stirring the chocolate before heating it again. Once melted, let it cool while stirring occasionally, until it reaches a fairly thick consistency. Transfer the chocolate into a piping bag and spread some acceso the flat side of a ball, then close it with another ball. Complete the hazelnut lady’s kisses this way and let them rest for about 20 minutes acceso a wire rack: when the gianduja chocolate has dried, the cookies will remain together and will be ready to be enjoyed!
For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.
