Get ready to get addicted to these beauties! Baci di Alassio translating to kisses of Alassio
I spent many years serving something similar while working in an Italian bakery and decided to recreate these at home after taking much advice from the older patisserie chefs.
Ingredients
600g hazelnut meal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
3-4 egg whites
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup dark chocolate melts
Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees.
Beat the egg whites into stiff peaks and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine hazelnut, cocoa and sugars together. In a seperate bowl mix the honey, vanilla and butter, then add to the hazelnuts. Mix together so all combined – the mixture will start to look crumbly. Gradually, fold through half of the egg whites. Add more egg whites until the mixture all comes together into a tacky mixture.
Roll into balls of desired shape using wet hands and place on lined baking trays. Using a wet fork, press down each ball to imprint. Place in the oven and bake until they are just crunchy on the outside, around 12-15 minutes. Set aside to completely cool on the hot trays.
In a small pot, heat the cream to a simmer, remove from heat and add the chocolate. Stir until all of the chocolate has melted and becomes thick and smooth.
Sandwich two biscuits together using a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture and allow to set before serving.
Chanel's Tapas Bar 