The Best Chocolate Sandwich Cookies: Italian Chocolate Baci di Dama

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP dark rum, optional
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 3 TBSP granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt, heaping
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp dark rum
• 1 TBSP unsalted butter, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat 1 cup (227g) softened butter with 1 cup (200g) powdered sugar. Start slowly until incorporated, then beat on high speed for about 3 minutes until nice and fluffy, stopping halfway to scrape the bowl. Add vanilla and rum, if using, and beat on low until incorporated. Once again, ensure you scrape the sides of the bowl.

2. 2

   Combine 1/2 cup (60g) of slivered almonds with 3 tbsp (37g) granulated sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until well ground. Some larger chunks are okay, but most of the mixture should be well processed. The sugar is just there to keep the almonds from sticking to the blade as much. If you prefer, you can use 3/4 cup (90g) of almond meal or ground almonds instead of this step.

3. 3

   In a sifter placed over the bowl with butter and sugar, combine the almond mixture made in step 2 with flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Sift into the butter mixture. You will notice that your almonds are left in the sifter—this is what you want; we just wanted to coat them with flour, and we will add them to the batter in step 4. Gently mix the flour in—you can do this with a wooden spoon or with a mixer on low speed, until just incorporated. Then mix in your almonds. Just make sure not to overmix or the cookies will be dry. Shape into a disk, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm enough to handle, at least 2 hours.

4. 4

   Take the cookie dough from the fridge and cut it into 3 pieces. Roll into 3/4-inch (2cm) logs and cut each log into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and roll each ball in sugar, coating it completely. Repeat with the remaining dough portions. The cookies will be too soft and will spread too much if baked at this point. I strongly recommend refrigerating these cookies for at least an hour.

5. 5

   Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets about 1.5 inches (4cm) apart. Bake in the preheated oven for about 7 minutes, maybe 8. Rarely have I baked more than that—look for the cookies to be puffed and gently cracked at the top. Remove from the oven and allow them to stay on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before sliding them onto cooling racks to cool completely.

6. 6

   For the ganache: Heat the cream on low heat in a small pot until small bubbles come to the surface; don't let it come to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute. Then stir into a smooth chocolate ganache. If for any reason the heat from the cream did not melt the chocolate, you can set the bowl with chocolate and cream over barely simmering water and stir until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the rum (if using) and vanilla. Allow the ganache to cool completely before spreading it on the cookies. Store it at room temperature, stirring it from time to time. You will notice it will thicken as it cools.

7. 7

   To assemble: Turn half of the cookies upside down. Place your ganache in a piping bag and pipe a good amount of the ganache onto the half of the cookies placed upside down. Top each of those cookies with the remaining half of the cookies, making a cookie sandwich. Enjoy!