Chocolate Salami

My new favorite cookie! No baking needed and it’s full of antioxidants! It looks like an Italian salami but it’s made with chocolate, chewy dried cherries, crunchy pistachios and plain cookies.

My Italian friend Giovanna Nebuloni from Milan Italy first introduced Chocolate Salami to me. She called it Salame di Cioccolato. Her recipe was much different than this, but the concept is the same. Pieces of cookie chunks resembling salami fat in a dark chocolate cookie, rolled in a light colored ingredient resembling the white powdery dusting of benign mold.

This recipe is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen cookbook The Perfect Cookie. I soaked the chopped dried cherries in whiskey instead of Grand Mariner. Also I think more lady fingers are needed. It’s a forgiving recipe, so you can easily add more cookie crumbs. I kept it at 3/4 cup cookie crumbs, but 1 cup would work too. I used Stella D’oro Margherite cookies because they are dried ladyfingers and taste yummy, but vanilla wafers or savoiardi would work too, or any biscuit like cookie.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped coarse

2 tablespoons whiskey, bourbon or Grand Marnier

6-8 ounces dried lady fingers (Stella D’oro Margherite cookies)

1 cup/6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

Pinch or more salt

2/3 cup pistachios, toasted

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine cherries and whiskey. Microwave 30 seconds. Cool

2. Slice lady fingers into 1/4 inch pieces with a bread knife. Reserve 1 cup of the biggest chunks. Process the remaining lady fingers so you have 3/4 cup crumbs or a bit more

3. In a medium bowl microwave chocolate and heavy cream just until melted and smooth, about 30 seconds or so.

4. Add salt and ladyfinger crumbs to chocolate and mix well.

5. Add cherry mixture, pistachios and ladyfinger chunks. Stir until a thick dough forms.

6. Divide dough in half and place each piece on a sheet of plastic wrap.

7. Use the plastic to roll each piece into a 6-7 inch log. Twist the ends tight. Refrigerate about 3 hours until firm, but check them to re-roll and insure their shape during that time.

8. When ready to serve, place confectioners sugar in a shallow dish. Unwrap the logs and roll until well coated. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Serve chilled.