Baci di Alassio (Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies) - The Floured Table (2024)

Baci di Alassio are decadent chocolate hazelnut cookies sandwiched with velvety dark chocolate ganache. They're a local specialty of the Ligurian town of Alassio, Italy. The ground hazelnuts and cocoa powder in these flourless cookies provide a rustic texture that's chewy and soft, similar to that of French macarons.

This baci di Alassio recipe uses only 6 ingredients to create a deliciously rich (and flourless!) chocolate hazelnut sandwich cookie. The main flavors are from toasted ground hazelnuts and rich cocoa powder. Combined, they form a thick batter that is piped into round stars and baked. After baking, they're sandwiched together with a silky smooth chocolate ganache.

These baci differ from their better known cousins, baci di dama. While baci di dama contain butter and flour (and no cocoa) and have a crispy, firm texture, these baci di Alassio are flourless and have a slight crunch with a nutty, chewy center.

The word baci means "kisses" in Italian. The name is rumored to have originated from the shape of the two cookies coming together like lips to form a kiss. These cookies, sometimes known as baci di riviera, were invented around 1910 by a famous pastry chef from Alassio, Rinaldo Balzola. He created them as a gastronomic souvenir for tourists visiting the Ligurian town from abroad.

The original recipe is a closely guarded secret, and each Italian bakery has their own rendition. This is my version, after 6 rounds of recipe tests to get just the right flavor, consistency and technique.

If you like chocolate and hazelnut, you'll also enjoy these nutella biscuits, crostata alla nutella (chocolate hazelnut tart), and nussecken (German nut corners).

You can also explore the entire collection of cookie recipes here, including these rich chocolate coffee mascarpone sandwich cookies and these delicate alfajores de maicena, which are Argentine shortbread sandwich cookies with dulce de leche.

Ingredients

• Hazelnuts - My hazelnuts came toasted, but I've included instructions for roasting them in case yours are raw. You can also use finely ground hazelnut meal or hazelnut flour here. If substituting ground nuts, use the same amount by weight; do not measure by volume.
• Cocoa powder - I use Dutch process cocoa powder for a rich, dark chocolate flavor. You can use either natural or Dutch process cocoa in this recipe.
• Honey - Honey serves as a binder and adds additional moisture and flavor to the recipe.
• Egg whites - Egg whites should be at room temperature.

* See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.

Instructions

Learn how to make baci di Alassio! These photos provide visual cues. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card.

Once baked cookies and ganache are both cool, place ganache in a piping bag with an open tip. Pipe a bit of ganache onto the base of a cookie and press together with another cookie to form a sandwich. Repeat for remaining baci cookies.

Hints: Grind your hazelnut and sugar mixture as finely as possible. This will help create the thickest batter for the piped cookies. A thicker batter means the cookies will spread less and have a taller, more defined star shape after baking.

Substitutions

Honey - If you don't have honey (or aren't able to eat it), you can substitute an equal amount of golden syrup or light corn syrup.

Cocoa powder - Since this recipe uses egg whites for leavening, you can use either Dutch process or natural cocoa powder interchangeably.

Variations

If you'd like to try a different twist on these Italian chocolate hazelnut sandwich cookies, consider this suggestion:

• Spiked ganache - Reduce the heavy cream by 1 Tablespoon. Add 1 Tablespoon of your preferred liquor to the cream and proceed with the recipe as written. You might try bourbon, a hazelnut liqueur such as Frangelico, or a coffee liqueur like Kahlua.

Equipment

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Food processor - To make these cookies, I grind my hazelnuts with the sugar in a food processor so that they are very fine.

Baking pans - I bake my cookies on half sheet baking pans (18 x 13 inches).

Piping bags - To pipe the baci, I use a double layer of these 16 inch piping bags since the batter is very thick.

Piping tips - For the cookies, I tested both an Ateco 868 French star pastry tip, and a Wilton 4B open star tip. While both work, I find it easier to use the larger Ateco 868 tip to smoothly pipe the very thick batter.

For the chocolate ganache, I use a Wilton 1A round tip.

Storage

Store: Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Freeze: Freeze cookies in an airtight container or zipper sealed bag for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

Make ahead: Pipe the cookies, gently cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator overnight prior to baking. Bring cookies to room temperature prior to baking.

Note: some recipes ask you to cure the cookies at room temperature overnight prior to baking. While I tried this with good results* in my recipe tests, I can't recommend the method for US bakers as the recipe contains raw egg whites, and our US eggs are processed differently from European eggs. If you know the origin and treatment of your eggs (ie, they're unwashed), leaving the unbaked piped cookies out at room temperature overnight is up to you!

* The flavor and texture of the cured version is the same as the uncured, immediately baked cookies. The only notable differences:

• The definition of the star shape is more crisp and pronounced on the cookies that have been left out overnight
• The cured cookies are slightly taller and spread a bit less

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below, and scroll down to leave a review. Your comments, suggestions and adaptations are very helpful to other bakers. Thank you for visiting!

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