Baci di Dama Cookies
Serving size: Makes 36 sandwich cookies
We have been posting about childhood cancer throughout September, #National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer remains the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S. Helping us is @Christina Pirello, host of the Emmy Award-winning American Public Broadcasting TV show Christina Cooks: Back to the Cutting Board. Christina, a cancer survivor herself, donated this recipe and photograph for Baci di dama cookies. Translating to "lady's kisses" in Italian, these bite-sized hazelnut cookies are filled with chocolate. They have a crisp, shortbread-like texture and a rich, nutty taste. Bake these delicious cookies and donate whatever you can to Cookies for Kids' Cancer, a national 501(c)3 non-profit that funds new research specific to the types of cancer kids get.
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
- 5 tablespoons of vegan butter substitute, cold
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- Pinch sea salt (Ground in a FinaMill Everyday Pod)
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Generous pinch fresh ground cinnamon (Grind in the FinaMill Grater Pod)
- 1 cup finely ground almond or hazelnut meal (Christina used Bob's Red Mill)
- 1/2 cup sprouted whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
Chocolate Filling:
- 1-ounce non-dairy, dark chocolate chips
- Pinch fresh ground cinnamon (Grind in the FinaMill Grater Pod)
- 2 teaspoons of brown rice syrup (Christina used Suzanne's Specialties)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F and position the oven racks in the middle and lower middle of the oven. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
- Cream the cold vegan butter with vanilla, coconut sugar and sea salt until smooth in a stand mixer. Add arrowroot, baking soda, cinnamon, almond/hazelnut meal and flour. Mix until a soft dough forms. Do not over-mix. Turn the dough onto a dry work surface and create a soft ball.
- Pinch off small pieces of dough (about the size of the first digit of your first finger). Roll into small balls and arrange on baking sheet with some space between the balls. You should have between 72 and 80 small balls of dough on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the racks halfway through baking, at 8 minutes. The cookies should be a wee bit soft to the touch. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks and cool completely.
- When the cookies are cooled, make the chocolate filling. Melt chocolate, cinnamon and rice syrup in a heat-resistant bowl over simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water), whisking often until the chocolate is creamy smooth and shiny. Transfer bowl to a dry towel on your work surface. Pairing cookies of similar size, spoon 1/4-teaspoon of filling on the flat side of a cookie and gently press the flat site of the other cookie into the chocolate, creating a tiny "sandwich." Repeat with all cookies and chocolate.
COOK'S TIP:
If the chocolate thickens while you are working, simply loosen it over simmering water for a few seconds and continue.
Christina used rimmed cookie sheets for this recipe as she wanted the cookies to be tender inside. She has found that rimless "cookie" sheets result in a hard cookie.
About Christina Pirello and Christina Cooks: Back to the Cutting Board
Christina Pirello is the Emmy Award-winning host of the American Public Television series, Christina Cooks: Back to the Cutting Board. Christina is a best-selling author of thirteen cookbooks and an eminent authority on the impact food choices have on our personal wellness and the health of the planet. With more than 300 episodes of Christina Cooks produced since 1997, Christina's message is clear and still unique: what we choose to eat has a big impact on how we look, feel, age, and move through this challenging world. Check your local public TV station listings for her program and follow her @christinacooks on Instagram and Christina Cooks Official on Facebook.
