Homemade Baci (Chocolate and Hazelnut Sweets)
Small chocolate-coated hazelnut sweets with a biscuit-and-cocoa centre. An oven-free treat for Advent visits, Christmas platters, or homemade gifts.
Ingredients
Have your ingredients ready? Go to instructionsInstructions
- Prepare the nuts and crumbs: Set aside the 24 whole hazelnuts for the tops. Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs and chop the measured 150g hazelnuts finely, keeping some small nut pieces for texture.
- Mix the centres: Combine the biscuit crumbs, chopped nuts, and cocoa. Stir in the chocolate-hazelnut spread and 100g condensed milk. Knead briefly with a spoon or clean hands until a squeezed portion holds together. Add extra condensed milk by the teaspoon only if the mixture is too crumbly.
- Shape: Divide into 24 portions and roll into small balls with slightly flattened bases. Press one whole hazelnut gently into the top of each ball so it is secure but still makes a small bump. Place on a baking-paper-lined tray.
- Chill the centres: Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the mixture before coating. Keep the tray cold while melting the chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate: Place the chopped chocolate in a dry heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, keeping the bowl clear of the water. Stir until melted, usually 5-10 minutes, then remove from the heat. Keep water and steam out of the chocolate.
- Coat: Balance each chilled sweet on a fork and spoon chocolate over it, covering the hazelnut and sides. Dip the base, tap off excess gently, and slide onto fresh baking paper. Let surplus chocolate drain into the bowl before moving each sweet.
- Set and serve: Refrigerate for another 30 minutes or until the coating is firm. Serve in small portions, keeping the rest chilled until needed.
Getting the Mixture to Hold
Biscuits and spreads vary, so judge a squeezed spoonful before adding more condensed milk. It should hold a ball without sticking heavily to your hands. If the mixture feels soft, chill it briefly; if it crumbles after pressing, add the extra condensed milk a teaspoon at a time.
Use roasted hazelnuts for this method. Buying them already roasted and peeled keeps the stated cooking time to melting the chocolate. Avoid grinding all the nuts into a smooth butter: a few small pieces make the centre more interesting.
A Neat Chocolate Coat
Keep the centres firm and the melted chocolate fluid but no longer hot. A fork supports the base while a spoon covers the top. Work over the bowl so the excess falls back into it, then use a second fork to slide the sweet onto baking paper.
This simple melted-chocolate coating is not tempered, so it may soften in a warm room and need refrigeration. The cooking time refers to melting the chocolate; the sweets do not go in the oven.
Serving and Keeping
Keep in a covered container in the fridge, following the shortest storage guidance on the opened ingredients. Offer a few at a time with coffee rather than leaving the whole batch in a warm room. For gifts, keep the sweets chilled and tell the recipient to refrigerate them.
These sweets contain hazelnuts, and the biscuits, spread, condensed milk, and chocolate can add wheat, dairy, or other allergens. Check the packets when shopping. Plan a small platter with our Advent recipe collection or the broader Christmas menu guide.
Homemade chocolate sweets for sharing
The Maltese community food publication il-Borma’s December 2011 issue includes a homemade baci recipe using biscuits and hazelnuts. It provides one local example of making these chocolate sweets at home for the festive season.
Our mixture uses condensed milk and chocolate-hazelnut spread as binders, with no added alcohol. Serving it during Advent is a suggestion for a gathering, not a claim that baci are tied to a particular religious observance or that this is the commercial chocolate’s formula.