BACI DI DAMA- ITALIAN HAZELNUT COOKIES

You will find yourself going through these cookies very quickly.
The flavor of the hazelnut and chocolate pairs so well with the Kafe Hawaij. Nutty, buttery and crumbles in your mouth to perfection.
The recipe makes 30-35 sandwiched cookies (depends of course on how many cookies are eaten before they are turned into the final sandwich :)

Roast hazelnuts in a 325ºF (160ºC) for 10-15 minutes, until they’re golden. Remove from the oven and once cool, rub the skins off with your hands and remove as much skin as you can. Use a food processor grind to a powder.

Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, mix the butter and sugar until the mixture gets whiter and fluffier. Add the yolk, beat for one more minute.

Mix the dry ingredient; hazelnut powder, flour and Kafe Hawaij and add to the mixer, mix only until the dough comes together- you don’t want to over work it,
Roll the dough into ¾ logs. approx 3/4-inch/2cm in diameter. I prefer rolling into plastic wrap as I can make them smoother easier but parchment paper also works. Place them in the fridge for several hours or pop them in the freezer for 15-30 minutes until they firm up and are easy to handle.

Remove the logs from the fridge one at a time and cut into 0.5cm/0.19inch circles and roll into cherry size balls. Place on a baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the logs. Bake for 15 minutes until the cookies are light golden brown. Each oven is different so make
sure to keep an eye out if they need a few minutes less or added. Rotate once throughout the baking. Let the cookies cool down.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or carefully in the microwave. If using the microwave you need to make sure you stop every 10-15 seconds and mix to avoid the chocolate burning.
On the baking sheet, organize the cookies into pairs of the same size, take one side and dip into the melted chocolate and cover with the other side. Let cool