Valentine's Day with Baci di Dama (Lady’s Kisses)

Valentine's Day, the sweetest celebration of the year, is just around the corner—the holiday of love.  

If you want to surprise your partner with something special, why not step into the kitchen and bake a dessert to enjoy together, with a name that's absolutely perfect for the occasion: Baci di Dama (literally "Lady's Kisses")!  

They’re a bit tricky to make, but it’s worth the effort, and they’ll leave a lasting impression. Let’s discover how to prepare them together!

The Baci di Dama: the most romantic cookies in the world  

They are among the finest examples of Piedmontese pastry and have delighted sweet-tooths since the 19th century. As often happens in the culinary world, the origins of the most famous creations are shrouded in a magical mix of history and legend, and the Baci di Dama are no exception. To trace their roots, we must ideally walk through the halls of the royal palaces of the Savoy dynasty: it was here that King Victor Emmanuel II asked his trusted cooks to create a new dessert with an unprecedented taste and shape.

And so the Baci di Dama were born, the distinctive pastries where two small crumbly cookies are joined in a sort of kiss, held together by a thin layer of delicious dark chocolate cream. Outside of legend, the Baci di Dama originate from Tortona, a town in Piedmont in the province of Alessandria.

The Variants of Baci di Dama  

Over time, the original recipe has undergone changes and adjustments. In the early 1800s, Cavalier Stefano Vercesi replaced hazelnuts with almonds, which were more refined but also more expensive, creating the so-called "baci dorati" ("golden kisses"). Another variant, the Baci di Alassio, was created by Pasquale Balzola and includes the addition of cocoa and honey in the dough. 

The Origins of Valentine’s Day from the Lupercalia  

Valentine’s Day originated in 496 AD under Pope Gelasius I. As often happened in history, this celebration represents a Christian "adaptation" of a pagan festival. Specifically, today’s Valentine’s Day is believed to be a moralized and diluted version of the far more unrestrained and transgressive Lupercalia, pagan celebrations in honor of the fertility god Lupercus held on February 15.

Offering your partner a bouquet of flowers or a box of sweets, as is customary today, was not part of the festivities back then. Instead, during the height of the celebrations, Roman women allowed themselves to be struck with whips by strapping young men who roamed the streets either naked or wearing nothing more than a skimpy leather skirt. While the ritual lacked romance, it was believed at the time to promote fertility. 

From the Lupercalia to Today’s Valentine’s Day  

As one might imagine, such celebrations were incompatible with Christian morality. Thus, Pope Gelasius I decided to strip the festival of all explicit references to sexuality and move it to the day before, February 14, the feast day of Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr who was beheaded in Terni in 274 AD. 

Saint Valentine, Patron Saint of Lovers  

The sources are unclear on how Saint Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. However, it seems that the connection between the saint and love can be traced back to the 14th-century English poet and writer Geoffrey Chaucer, who, in his poem "Parlement of Foules", associated Saint Valentine with Cupid.