Shortbread or Jenga?

Do you remember Jenga? :)

The recipe is by Trish Deseine from her very good book "Cooking with friends"; I slightly modified it just by adding some roasted hazelnuts. To be honest I am not a huge fan of shortbread but I found this one very delicious...crunchy but it melts in your mouth...a real treat!!!

HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

250g Salted butter
300g Plain flour
90g Sugar
200g Whole roasted hazelnuts

In a food processor chop the hazelnuts with the sugar until they are fine but with a little texture and put them in a big bowl. Again using the food processor, mix flour and butter together at maximum speed until the mixture resembles breadcrums and pour over the chopped hazelnutz. Knead by hand for a couple of minutes until everything comes together and you have big crumbs. Spread compacting it with your hands in a Swiss roll or round tin, lined with baking parchment, until 1 cm thick. Let rest for 30' or more in the fridge and meanwhile preheat the oven to 150°C. Bake for 50' until deep golden brown. Leave it to cool for 5 minutes and then cut into wedges (if round tin was used) or fingers (if a Swiss roll tin was used) and allow to cool completely before serving.

A crunchy smile,
D.

Alassio Kisses aka Baci di Alassio

I fell immediately in love with these kisses when I saw them in the March issue of Sale&Pepe (italian food magazine)....and like Baci di Dama (Lady kisses), they seem very easy-peasy to make but beware, their simple recipe could be tricky especially the first time...In fact, I managed to bake perfect kisses only at the third attempt!!! Luckily I am very stubborn and I don't throw in the towel easily because these little beauties are SUPER DIVINE...especially if they are "forgotten" in the tin for a couple of days!

As I told you the recipe itself is very easy and, with a few tricks, fool's proof so....give it a go!!

BACI di ALASSIO
Per 20 kisses

250g Whole hazelnuts, toasted
200g Caster sugar
25g Honey (preferably runny)
25g Cocoa powder
2 Egg whites (60-70g) (*)

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a mixer chop finely the hazelnuts with the sugar and put them in a big bowl. Sieve the cocoa powder on top and stir wells with a spoon. Add the honey and stir again. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and add a spoon at a time to the rest of the ingredients. This is the tricky step because the mixture has to be thik and firm for the kisses to hold their shape during baking (**). Therefore it is possible that it is not necessary to add all the egg whites. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and fill with the mixture a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Pipe the kisses in individual swirls the size of half a walnut. Bake for 10-12' in the middle shelf and when ready (they shoul have a crisp skin), take out the oven and allaw to cool on a wire rack. Sandwich together with a teaspoon of dark chocolate ganache. Keep in a tin for up to 15 days (even more). Their taste develop if left for at least a day in the tin.

GANACHE

75g Dark chocolate (50-70% cocoa), chopped
75g Double cream

Bring the cream to the boil and set aside. Add the chocolete and stir until it is melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Leave to cool for 2 hours (or until the ganache is firm and can be spooned).

(*) The original recipe does not specify the weight of the whites so I considered the weight of the white of a medium egg (about 35g).

(**) The mixture has the right consistency when it takes a little effort to pipe it on the bakig tray; If you think that the mixture is a bit too loose, try to leave the kisses (once formed) on the baking sheet overnight at room; in this way they should hold their shape while in the oven.

A smily kiss,
D.