* Ex****ted from MasterCook *
Baci Di Dama Cookies
Recipe By :The Village Baker's Wife Cookbook
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies Rolled
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter -- at room temperature
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 large egg
2 2/3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup ground, toasted, skinned hazelnuts
Chocolate Ganache
12 ounces semisweet chocolate -- coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups ultra pasteurized whipping cream
Cream butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the egg
and
mix until incor****ated.
In separate bowl, combine flour, salt and ground hazelnuts.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until completely
incor****ated.
Form the dough into a flat disc. Cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate
for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Butter 2 baking sheets or line with parchment
paper.
Remove dough from fridge and place it on lightly floured surface.
Lightly flour top of dough. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out
circles using 2 inch round butter. When all dough has been used, press
remaining dough together and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Re-roll and cut
out
the dough as before. Dough trimmings can be shaped into miniature
crescent
shapes and baked.
Place cookies on prepared cooking sheet (they can be close to each other
because they will not spread).
Bake for 7 minutes and then check doneness. They should be light brown.
Bake for 3 more minutes, checking frequently because they brown quickly at
end of baking time. Let cookies on baking
sheets. When they have completely cooled, spread about 1 teaspoon
Chocolate
Ganache on half of them. Top with the remaining cookies to make little
sandwiches. Let cookies rest on baking sheets until chocolate sets.
Note: Make the Chocolate Ganache filling at least 5 hours (or even 1 day
ahead) before making cookies. It must be a spreadable consistency when
used.
Chocolate Ganache
Place chocolate in medium mixing bowl. In large saucepan over medium high,
heat the cream, stirring once or twice, until it begins to boil. Don't
worry
about any skin that forms on surface of cream. It will dissolve later.
Remove saucepan from heat and immediately pour one half of the cream into
the chocolate. Let the mixture sit a few seconds, then gently stir with a
rubber spatula until smooth, being careful not to incor****ate air into the
ganache.
It's all right if a few chunks of unmelted chocolate remain.
Add the remaining cream to the chocolate in 2 parts, each time reheating
the
cream and stirring the mixture until smooth. If the ganache is still not
perfectly smooth after all the cream has been stirred in, strain it
through
a medium mesh sieve. Straining the ganache will produce a lot of small
air
bubbles, but air bubbles are preferable to hard bits of chocolate. Gently
tap the bowl on the work surface to remove as many of the bubbles as
possible. Let the mixture cool, uncovered, at room temperature, stirring
about every 5 minutes for the first 30 minutes, then stirring about every
15
minutes for the first hour. as it cools, so the longer it cools, the
thicker
it will become. Do not refrigerate. Ganache that is refrigerated at any
stage will permanently lose its ****ne. The ganache is ready to be used in
its different cooling stages
as follows:
As a cake glaze: Let cool for about 1 hour. It should be just barely warm
and have the consistency of unwhipped cream.
As an éclair glaze: Let cool for 1 hour.
As a flavoring for whipped cream and buttercream: Cool for at least 2
hours,
or overnight.
As a skim coat or cake filling: Cool overnight. (should have consistency
of
soft butter.
Can be used for dipping, filling, coating, writing, glazing, and flavoring
buttercream and whipped cream.
Can be whipped and flavored with liqueur or ground nuts and then scooped
into small balls and rolled in cocoa to make
simple truffles.
Can be reheated until soft and poured over vanilla ice cream.
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