Crumbly Hazelnut Smooches with Dark Chocolate

These cookies are based on bac/ di dama (which translates to "lady's
kisses"), a traditional cookie from northwest Italy, a region known for its
plump and aromatic hazelnuts. They usually consist of two tiny cookies that
are sandwiched together with a wee dollop of dark chocolate, Even though
the dough is straightforward, rolling all those itty-bitty balls and kissing them
together with chocolate is a lot of work. Instead, I take a cue from classic
peanut butter blossoms, forming each cookie slightly larger and pressing
a chunk of chocolate smack-dab into it. When I was a pastry chef, I'd whip
these up for all my gluten-free guests, and they've been a go-to ever since
Similar to shortbread, the butter-rich dough makes these cookies melt-in-
your-mouth and taste even better the next day, I think these are best made
with high-fat, European-style butter, but any butter will work (even vegan!).
Be sure to use stoneground rice flour (l like Bob's Red Mill). Very finely milled
rice flour will make the dough super crumbly and unmanageable.
Makes about 30 cookies

Difficulty Level: Easy Servings: about 30 cookies
Prep Time: Active: 30 mins. Cook Time: 14-16 minutes

Submitted by Brynne Corcoran

Ingredients

140 grams (1 cup) skin-on hazelnuts
100 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1.5 teaspoons Diamond Crystal
kosher salt
140 grams (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
stoneground white rice flour
100 grams (7 tablespoons) unsalted
butter or vegan butter, cut into
pieces, at room temperature
1 fancy milk, dark, or vegan chocolate
bar (around 100 grams)

Directions

1. Set up: Arrange oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the
oven and heat to 325°F (163°C). Line two sheet pans with parchment
paper.

2. Toast the hazelnuts: Spread the hazelnuts onto a sheet pan and
roast, tossing every 10 minutes, until deeply browned and toasty,
25 to 30 minutes. While hot, transfer to a clean towel and rub off most
of the papery skins (don't worry about removing it all). Reserve the
sheet pan and keep the oven on.

3. Make the dough: In a food processor, combine the toasted
hazelnuts, sugar, and salt and pulse the mixture until very finely
ground-about the texture of cornmeal. Add the rice flour and pulse
to combine

4. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture comes together into
clumps. Dump the mixture onto a clean surface and gently knead to
bring together into a crumbly dough that feels like greasy wet sand,
about 1 minute

5. Portion and bake: Using a #60 cookie scoop (see Note) or
2 spoons, portion the dough into 1-tablespoon (about 15-gram) balls
and arrange on the prepared sheet pans spacing them 1 inch apart.
(The dough will feel very crumbly and like it doesn't want to hold
together. If using your hands to rollit into balls, be gentle. If using a
scoop, level the scoop, place the flat side onto the sheet pan, and
release the portion directly onto the pan.)

6. Transfer both pans to the oven and bake until the edges are
darker than the middle and the cookies feel set and dry but still soft
14 to 16 minutes, switching racks and rotating the sheet pans front to
back halfway through.

7. Chocolate topping: In the meantime, break the chocolate bar into small pieces (one per cookie -- you don't need much chocolate for each cookie). As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, drop a piece of chocolate into the center of each one.

8. cool completely on the sheet pans (the cookies will crisp as they cool). Stored in an airtight container (with a desiccant if you have one) the cookies will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Special Equipment:
food processor
sheet pans
parchment paper
#60 cookie scoop (or 2 spoons)

Note 2: If you're using a cookie scoop to portion the dough, be sure to level the dough in the scoop; otherwise your portions will be too big and the bake time will be off.