Canestrelli Piemontesi

These are not the canestrelli of Liguria, those simple rounds dusted with powdered sugar. The Piemontese version is something else entirely: two paper-thin wafers, delicate as communion hosts, embracing a filling of hazelnut and chocolate. The technique that makes them so tender will seem strange at first. You will hard-boil eggs, use only the yolks, and press them through a sieve. This is not optional. This is what separates a proper canestrello from an ordinary butter cookie.

Piedmont understands hazelnuts the way Emilia understands pork. The Tonda Gentile delle Langhe, grown in the hills south of Turin, is considered the finest hazelnut in the world. When Napoleon's blockades cut off cocoa supplies in the early 1800s, Piedmontese chocolatiers stretched their precious chocolate with local hazelnuts and created gianduia. That same combination fills these cookies.

The dough must stay cold. The butter must be cold. Your hands should work quickly. If the dough becomes soft and sticky, you have failed. Put it back in the refrigerator and try again. Simple does not mean easy.