Valentine’s Day is here. I know it has become a day “used” by many companies to sell stuff you may not buy otherwise, but I still like the idea of a day in which to exchange sweet gifts with the person you love (in Italy, friends are not included on this day… it is strictly a “love affair”). As I have always believed that home-made is better, I have decided to recreate the most classic of Italian Valentine’s Day gifts: Baci Perugina, made with hazelnuts and chocolate (bacio in Italian means kiss). The only Baci Perugina that I have seen here are the small version called Bacetti (little kisses…) which lack 2 of the best things of their bigger brothers: the hazelnut on the top and the messages. In fact, the messages are probably what best represents these chocolates. Whenever you unwrap one, you find a message… a piece of thin paper with a quote written in different languages. The theme is usually love and the quote can be either by very famous people or anonymous. These chocolates are very popular in Italy and they are 90 years old this year… as they were created in 1922! I have always liked them as I have a thing for hazelnuts (and I am a hopeless chocoholic!). I had a great time making them at home and I will also show you 2 different ideas on how to serve them. You can just put them in paper cases or you can try and reproduce the original bacio casing by wrapping them in alluminum foil, this way you can even include your personalised love messages inside! I am really satisfied with the results… actually my husband told me that the baci I made taste much better than the store bought ones, and I think he is right… but don’t tell him or I will never hear the end of it!! 😉 The good news is, they are really easy to make! And I am here to show you how… you are still in time to gift these to your loved one this Valentine’s Day! Have a great day!
Recipe adapted from Mysia
Ingredients (I got 11 out of these, but the original recipe says 14):
50 gms – 1.75 oz. milk chocolate
10 gms – 0.35 oz. butter
50 gms – 1.75 oz. chopped toasted and skinned hazelnuts
50 gms – 1.75 oz. Nutella
11 (or 14) toasted hazelnuts
100 gms – 3.5 oz. dark chocolate
Put the milk chocolate and butter in a sauce pan and melt them over low fire. Mix well.
In the meantime, combine the chopped hazelnuts with Nutella (1). Add the melted milk chocolate (2) and mix well (3). Put this mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes to harden it a bit (4). This will help you to shape your baci.
After 15 minutes, take the chocolate mixture out of the freezer and make 2.5 cm – 1 inch balls out of it. I got 11, but the original recipe said 14. I guess it depends on the chopped hazelnuts. I chopped mine myself (the original recipe had store bought chopped hazelnuts, which will all be approximately the same size)… I put them in a mixer for 5 seconds and I still got some powdered hazelnuts together with the chopped ones.
Anyhow, no matter how many chocolates you get, make sure you have enough toasted hazelnuts to top them with. Apply one on each bacio with a slight pressure.
Put the chocolates back in the freezer to harden for half an hour.
In the meantime, melt the dark chocolate. When melted, let it cool down so that it thickens enough to coat the baci (1). Dip each bacio into the melted chocolate (2) and coat it completey. I used two forks to do this, so that the extra chocolate could easily fall through the tines. Put them on a rack to harden (3-4).
When completely dry, you have 2 options: you can serve them in small paper cases or wrap them in alluminum foil. In this case, you can also add some personalised messages written on baking paper for your loved one and wrap it around the chocolate and then wrap the full thing with alluminum foil. Just like the “original” baci.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! <3
This is really a perfect recipe for Valentine’s 🙂 They’re so gorgeous 🙂
My mouth is watering at the very sight of this!!! This is beyong delicious!!!!!! I sooo wanna eat them all!!!
Manu, these are amazing. Particularly love the personalised lip-glossed kiss as a message. These are so special and so much better than the commercial ones (although I do have a soft spot for them, as there’s a romantic history attached to them 😉
Great shots, as ever! Enjoy exchanging messages today. xo
What beautiful sweets, Manu! And I love the tradition of the note inside 🙂
Your level of skill never ceases to amaze me…these look and probably taste better than the store bought versions. I love that you hand wrote your little love notes inside. Valentine’s Day has become entirely too commercial in North America and it mostly makes me cringe (I was looking for a card for my hubby and I found one for $10Canadian!! Ridiculous). I will definitely bookmark this little gem for the future, they are my hubby’s favourite chocolate treat.
Happy Valentines Day Manu. Just read your interview at Nancy’s and I might change my menu for the evening. My husband is a steak kinda guy, but I’ll take pasta any night of the week. These candies too for that matter, will have to try making them at home. There are not many sources for good Italian products where I live, I don’t like that one bit.
-Gina-
Beautifully done! Whenever I made something like this I can never make them look as perfect as you have…something always seems to go around in the dipping for me…
How wonderful! I love them!
What a fantastic post! I had no clue about how to make these treats, I love them!
you did a great job with this post, I am in awe!
Happy V-day!
I love you. Seriously. My soul is yours. I never, ever pass baci perugina, not since my trip to Rome. Thank you for sharing this 🙂
Looks YUM! Have pinned this!
I never would have thought to make these myself before seeing this recipe! Wow! Looks easy and so delicious.
These are absolutely amazing! Great alternative to the traditional chocolate truffle!
Wow! These sound incredible… and so pretty too! You have done a really fabulous job with it. The baci perugina look really professional… Who can resist the call of hazelnut and chocolate?! 🙂 Gorgeous pictures & post, Manu!
You clever thing! They look wonderful and I’ve never thought to make my own (although I do enjoy eating them). 😀
My goodness! Why am I only finding this now??? LOVE these little chocs and you even made your own messages – this is a perfect V DAy treat!
OMG! Sell them!!!! I’ll place the first order – 2 dozen please!
oh my this look just the store bought. would love to have 1 box of it =).
These are stunning Manu! Your recipes never cease to amaze…just gorgeous!
You didn’t??? You are incredible…they look delicious. Hope you had a great day with your three loved ones
Beautiful!!!!!
such a perfect recipe for valentine…
But I am sure it is equally awesome for any day.
My my, hazelnut, Nutella and dark chocolate, I don’t think I’d be able to share it even for Valentine! 😉
These are beautiful Manu! Love that they come with messages too, who doesn’t love chocolate and a little word or two of love?
Forget Valentine’s Day, I’m making them for myself!
Wow, this is amazing! I love Baci chocolates. Anytime I see them at a store checkout I always have to snag one, and yes, I love the little messages inside too!
Ummmm…this chocolate must be one of my favorties. Since the first time this chocolate was imported to Peru (from Italy of course) my father always bought it for my mother…of course just one or two because were very expensive, and she always shared it with me…
i miei sono qui: http://www.ztastylife.com/2012/01/love-is-in-the-air-home-made-baci.html > c’e’ anche un video