Italian Bocconotti Cookies

Ciao bella! These sweet Italian Bocconotti Cookies are mini pastry-like cookies filled with chocolate, jam and nuts and ready in 1 hour.

Prep: 30 min | Total: 1 hr | Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients

Cookies

1 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Grated peel of 1 lemon
1/2 cup cold butter

Filling

1/4 cup cherry, grape or strawberry jam
1/4 cup ground almonds
2 ounces semisweet baking chocolate, very finely chopped

Garnish

Powdered sugar

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, egg, egg yolks, baking soda and lemon peel. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture comes together and begins to form a wet dough. (Or mix with an electric mixer using dough hook attachment.) Gather dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate while making filling.
In a small bowl, mix jam, almonds and chocolate until well combined.
With floured hands, shape teaspoonsful of dough into about 24 balls; flatten each ball into a round. Press 1 round on bottom and up side of ungreased mini muffin cup. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon filling into cup. Top with a second round; seal edges. Repeat with remaining dough rounds and filling.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool for 2 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Serve warm or cool.

Notes

The filling for these cookies can vary, so feel free to get creative. Try different flavors of jam or marmalade.

Cinnamon is also used in some regions of Italy in this type of cookie, so if you like cinnamon, add 1/2 teaspoon to the dough.

If you have individual mini tart tins (about 1 3/4 inch in diameter), those can be used instead of mini muffin cups. Place the tins on a cookie sheet for baking.

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: Betty Crocker Kitchens