Occhi di Bue (Chocolate Sandwich Cookies)

Name: Occhi di Bue (Chocolate Sandwich Cookies)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: makes
Ingredients: 1 cup (226 grams) salted butter, softened; 1 ½ cups (180 grams) confectioners’ sugar, plus more for topping; 1 large egg, room temperature; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 ½ cup (170 grams) hazelnut flour or almond flour; 2 cups (272 grams) AP flour, plus additional for dusting; ½ tsp ground nutmeg; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread, for filling; Flaked sea salt, for garnish

Image of Occhi di Bue (Chocolate Sandwich Cookies) — Photo by Linda Xiao

Servings

makes 24 cookies

Prep Time

45 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

"While the origins of this sandwich cookie are not certain, many believe it was created in northern Italy, as it closely resembles the Austrian Linzer cookie. The top cookie has a hole to reveal the filling and bue means ox in Italian; hence the cookie is a bullseye. I enjoyed these cookies while vacationing in Rome, where I found them in every pastry shop I entered. The variety of jam fillings was endless, but I always grabbed the one with a thick layer of chocolate hazelnut spread. It’s a perfect complement to the hazelnut flour I added to the recipe. I also added a garnish of sea salt in my version, which is not traditional but so delicious."

Author:

Anna Francese Gass

Ingredients

1 cup (226 grams) salted butter, softened
1 ½ cups (180 grams) confectioners’ sugar, plus more for topping
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cup (170 grams) hazelnut flour or almond flour
2 cups (272 grams) AP flour, plus additional for dusting
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread, for filling
Flaked sea salt, for garnish

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar, on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl, until the egg is just combined, another minute or so. Add the flours and spices and mix to combine completely. Empty the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, shape into a disk, and wrap up the dough with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut it in half. Return one half to the refrigerator.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles. In half of the 2-inch circles, cut out a smaller ¾ inch circle in the center (or use a fun shape, like a flower). Reroll the dough for another 16 cookies.
Place the cookies and the cut-outs onto the baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes, until very lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet and repeat the process with remaining dough.
Once cooled, place the chocolate hazelnut spread into a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip (Ateco #844) on the solid cookies. Lightly dust confectioners’ sugar on top of the cookies with the cutout in the center.
Place the sugared cutout cookies on top of the solid cookies to create a sandwich cookie. Sprinkle flaked salt on the chocolate hazelnut in the cut out.