Rhubarb baci di dama ~ the roasted rhubarb buttercream is sweet and tangy, and the almond cookies are light as air…I’m pretty sure they serve these cookies in heaven.
These gorgeous spring cookies are a TVFGI exclusive…an inspired mash-up of a Yotam Ottolenghi roasted rhubarb buttercream and a classic Italian baci di dama cookie. The cookies are made with almond flour and puff up in the oven for a crisp, light texture not unlike a macaron. They have a lovely almondy flavor and the rhubarb buttercream is nice and tart.
Baci di dama, or lady’s kiss cookies, are named because they supposedly resemble a beautiful lady’s lips in a smooching position. Not sure about that, but they are pretty!
Rhubarb is such an enchanting ingredient, I’ve used it in everything from salad dressing to popsicles, and I never tire of that tart berry flavor and vivid color, nothing else comes close!
There’s something extra special about a homemade sandwich cookie, isn’t there? A few simple extra steps really make a difference, and these delectable little two bite cookies are definitely conversation pieces…I mean, roasted rhubarb buttercream is pretty special, and no one needs to know how easy it was.
You’ll only need one stalk of rhubarb for the buttercream filling for these cookies. Pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes to roast, and once it has cooled you can blitz it into a buttercream with a little softened butter, powdered sugar, and a squeeze of lemon. Where has this stuff been all my life??
For the cookies I use a small 1 1/4 inch cookie scoop to portion out little balls of dough. The tray goes in the freezer for a few minutes before baking so the cookies bake up nice and puffed and don’t spread much. When the cookies have cooled, just drop a dollop of frosting on the flat side of one cookie, and pop another one on top. Then just try to resist.
Tips for roasted rhubarb baci di dama
- Cream your butter and sugar until truly light and fluffy ~ this incorporates air into the dough so they will rise and be crisp on the outside and light an airy inside.
- Use a very small scoop for the cookies, if they are too big they will make an out-sized sandwich cookie that won’t be as appealing. A measuring teaspoon amount of dough is right. I use a small 1 1/4 inch cookie scoop
- Don’t skip the dough chilling step.
- Depending on your oven, your pan, and your dough, you may get a little spreading in your cookies. Don’t worry, they’ll still taste amazing, just don’t over bake, you’re going for a crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside texture.
Make this recipe your own
- If you don’t like rhubarb, sandwich your cookies with any frosting you prefer, including plain old Nutella.
- You can use jam instead of roasted rhubarb, start with a tablespoon or two of your favorite and make the buttercream as directed.
- To make these gluten free, substitute rice flour for the all purpose flour.
- You can use hazelnut flour instead of the almond flour.
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Rhubarb Baci di Dama
Ingredients
rhubarb filling
- 1 stalk rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 1 inch slices.
- 1 1/2 Tbsp soft unsalted butter
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 2-3 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
cookies
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2/3 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Line a baking sheet with parchment and put the rhubarb on it, in a single layer. Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft. Let the fruit cool, then scrape into the bowl of a small food processor along with the butter and lemon juice, and process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Process in the sugar, a cup at a time, until the mixture is thick and glossy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally, and let the machine go for a couple of minutes. If your frosting is too thick, add a touch of milk or more lemon juice, and if it’s too thin, add a touch more sugar. Cover and chill, the frosting will thicken up as it chills. You can do this a day ahead.
- To make the cookies, beat the soft butter and sugar on medium high in a stand mixer for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. This step is important because it will incorporate air into the dough to help the cookies rise. Beat in the extracts.
- Add the flours and mix until the dough starts to come together. Turn out onto a surface and bring the dough together with your hands, kneading into a soft dough.
- Use a small 1 1/4 inch cookie scoop, or a measuring teaspoon, to scoop out small amounts of dough ~ roll into balls and put them in the freezer until hard, about 15-20 minutes.
- Put the frozen dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake the cookies until they are risen and just beginning to turn golden, about 14-15 minutes. Don’t wait until they are brown or they will be over baked. The size of your cookies will determine the baking time, so do a test cookie or two to figure that out. Let cool on a rack before filling.
- To fill, put a dollop of frosting on the flat side of one cookie, and top with another.
Notes
Nutrition
don’t forget to pin these roasted rhubarb lady’s kiss cookies
These are beautiful Sue I don’t know how I missed these in his book. I will definitely try these. Now I need to take my time when I scroll through the pages of ottelenghi. I wonder how many more luscious foods I’ve missed.
Hi Sue. I consider myself to be a huge food enthusiast; and I must say, I love your blog. And, I’m especially pleased that your site isn’t all skewed mainly towards sweets and chocolate. In that vein, I’ve seen many desserts that I would LOVE to try. I’ve made several of your savory dishes. One can see, just by reading a recipe, if it works or not. Your recipes are concise and provide many tips to the reader that we may not have thought to ask about. I was creating dishes, back in the 60’s, with my father, after school, so I appreciate the diligence it takes to prepare something you’re truly proud to serve. Also, I’ve worked in some very fine restaurants and appreciate presentation as well. Your photography is beautiful and creative.
Thanks for making my day Carolyne 🙂 I do work awfully hard at this, and it can be quite solitary work, so feedback like this is precious to me. Thanks for your support, and please feel free to send in any favorite recipes of your own for me to try, I do a Reader’s Recipe series where I will blog some of them…here’s the LINK.
I want to grab one right off my screen Sue! That buttercream sounds delightful!
I’m eagerly gathering rhubarb recipes for when spring finally makes it’s way up here, and rhubarb buttercream is definitely something I need to try. These little sandwich cookies look delicious and adorable 🙂
I was literally just looking for more ideas to use rhubarb this morning and then stumbled across this recipe. These cookies are gorgeous and I love the creative use of rhubarb in the filling. I can’t wait to make them!
And just think, you can make these with one stalk and save the rest for something else…might I recommend my Rhubarb Crisp or my Rhubarb Breakfast Cake??
Ok, when I see recipes like this, I think “WHY are we not neighbors?”, but I think that with all of your recipes, Sue 🙂 And now rhubarb filling…in cookies…? Oh my word…I’ll take the whole batch! Just pinned…and can’t wait to make!
I often dream of having another blogger as a neighbor, that would be such fun 🙂
Love the idea of using a rhubarb filling! Gives such a fun pink color!
I was surprised at how much flavor came through, too. I’ve made strawberry buttercream before without as much success, I think rhubarb’s tart flavor is pretty assertive, which is nice.
This is such a unique cookie! I imagine that the combination of almond and rhubarb flavors, with all that sweet and tart working together, is very satisfying. They sound delicious.
Thanks Renee ~ this was fun to do, and the combo of the almond and rhubarb is a new fave 🙂
Beautiful! It will be a while before my rhubarb dares come out of the ground, but as soon as it does, I’ll be grabbing a stalk to make these 🙂
Just one stalk is all it takes 🙂
That rhubarb filling is definitely the super star here! These cookies look absolutely gorgeous.