Chocolate Salami
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This no bake, slice-and-serve cookie is the perfect treat for people who don’t like rolling and baking cookie dough. Each slice is made up of a mixture of crunchy cookies, roasted nuts, and creamy chocolate enveloped in a powdered sugar coating. These cookies are easy to make gluten free, dairy free, and/or vegan.
WHAT IS CHOCOLATE SALAMI?
No, this is not a meat product. In fact, that’s exactly what I asked when I had my first chocolate salame slice when my husband and I were in Portugal. And it probably makes things even more confusing if you call this “dessert salami” instead.
Here’s the deal: the “salami” categorization of this cookie is really only a nod to what the chocolate log looks like when it’s rolled up. It looks just like a salami log, but I assure you it smells much more like chocolate than meat.
And it tastes divine.
There is conflicting information out there about where chocolate salami originated. Some sources say Portugal and some say Italy, but since I had it in Portugal first, I will always associate it with that.
So! Please enjoy this photo of my Portuguese chocolate salami I purchased from a treat stand overlooking the coast of Nazaré. This was a beautiful and memorable moment in my dessert-making, adventure-loving life.
After this photo, I took a bite and said aloud “oh my gosh, I’m making these for my site.” And I’m so glad it’s here for you to enjoy!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS EASY CHOCOLATE SALAMI RECIPE
It’s no bake: no oven necessary! You will need to melt some chocolate, but you can do that in the microwave or on the stovetop. Easy peasy. If you can melt chocolate, you can make these cookies.
It’s slice-and-serve: when you’re ready to serve these cookies, all you have to do is slice them. You can slice them and store them, but there’s no reason you can’t wait until you’re ready to eat them to slice them into portions. Use a very sharp knife to cut them– serrated preferred!
You can easily make it gluten/dairy-free and/or vegan: the only gluten in this recipe, as written, is in the Nilla Wafers I used for the filling. You can easily swap out a gluten-free cookie! Use dairy-free butter, dairy-free chocolate chips, and coconut cream if you want to avoid milk. And since there are no eggs in this chocolate salami log, you can use vegan cookies alongside the aforementioned dairy-free items to easily make these cookies vegan.
A great make ahead option: you will need to chill the chocolate log for at least 4 hours before it’s sliceable, but it can be refrigerated for up to a week if you want to plan ahead.
GRAB THESE 8 INGREDIENTS
Be sure you’re checking the “substitutions & variations” section below for swaps and ideas if you don’t love or don’t want to use any of the ingredients in the recipe card.
You’ll need:
• crushed cookies
• pistachios
• another nut of your choice
• salt
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• unsalted butter
• heavy cream
• powdered sugar
STEP-BY-STEP: HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE SALAMI
This truly is a very easy cookie to make. I’ve included a bunch of photos to help you along the way, though I am confident you won’t need them to succeed. My best advice? Read through the recipe a couple times and look at all the process photos before beginning. This is a high-touch recipe, which means you will be getting your hands dirty more than once.
OPTIONAL: TOAST THE NUTS BEFORE BEGINNING
You may want to roast the nuts you’re using for your cookies if you are using raw nuts. I used dry roasted pistachios, so I gave my walnuts a quick roast.
To toast the nuts: heat the nuts in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Keep them moving with a spatula until they start to lightly brown and smell fragrant. Allow to cool until you can touch them (about 10 minutes), then coarsely chop and proceed with your recipe.
If you need to toast both your pistachios and your second nut, toast them separately to avoid burning.
STEP #1: place the cookies, both nuts, and salt into a large bowl and stir with a spatula until combined, then set this mixture aside.
STEP #2: place the chocolate and butter in a medium size bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave or in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming, then pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Allow the mixture to sit for two minutes, then stir until smooth.
STEP #3: once the ganache is smooth, pour it over the cookie + nut mixture and stir to coat. Allow the mixture to rest for about 10 minutes to cool down.
STEP #4: place a piece of parchment, wax paper, or plastic wrap onto a flat surface, then carefully pour the mixture onto it. Use your hands to shape the mixture into a log about 8″ long and about 2″ in diameter.
STEP #5: roll the log up in the wrapping, then twist the ends to close and seal it. Place the log in the refrigerator to firm up.
STEP #6 (OPTIONAL): after about 1 hour, I like to reshape my log a bit since it will have firmed up a bit but still be quite malleable. You don’t have to remove the wrapping! Just do it through the wrap with the warmth of your hands. Continue to chill for a total of at least 4 hours.
STEP #7: when you’re ready to slice the log, pour the powdered sugar onto a flat surface or into a shallow dish like a casserole dish or baking sheet. Unwrap the salami and roll it in the powdered sugar, using your hands to spread the powdered sugar over the entire chocolate surface.
STEP #8: slice the log into ½” slices and serve.
VARIATIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS
COOKIES: choose a plain, crispy, crumbly cookie. I used Nilla Wafers. You could also consider biscotti, shortbread, animal crackers, Biscoff cookies, or graham crackers.
NUTS: I used walnuts, but you can use any nut you prefer, even additional pistachios. Consider using pecans, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, or almonds. I do not recommend using a salted version of nuts as the cookies could be too salty.
CHOCOLATE: you can use chocolate chips or chopped bar chocolate for this recipe. While you can use anything from milk chocolate to bittersweet chocolate, I don’t recommend using white chocolate or unsweetened chocolate for your salami.
CAN I FREEZE CHOCOLATE DESSERT SALAMI?
Yes, you can freeze chocolate salami very easily as it needs to be chilled anyway. Freeze for up to 3 months, taking care to wrap it really well so no air gets to it. You can freeze it coated or un-coated in powdered sugar. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. You may need to re-sugar the log.
Chocolate Salami Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed cookies2
- ⅓ cup (45g) coarsely chopped pistachios3
- ¼ cup (30g) another nut of your choice4
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (171g) semi-sweet chocolate chips1
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (80mL) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (30g) powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
- Optional step before beginning: you may want to roast the nuts you're using for your cookies if you are using raw nuts. I used dry roasted pistachios, so I gave my walnuts a quick roast. To do this: heat the nuts in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Keep them moving with a spatula until they start to lightly brown and smell fragrant. Allow to cool until you can touch them (about 10 minutes), then coarsely chop and proceed with your recipe. If you need to toast both your pistachios and your second nut, toast them separately to avoid burning.
- Place the cookies, both nuts, and salt into a large bowl and stir with a spatula until combined. Set aside.1 cup crushed cookies2, ⅓ cup (45g) coarsely chopped pistachios3, ¼ cup (30g) another nut of your choice4, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Place the chocolate and butter in a medium size bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave or in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming, then pour the cream over the chocolate and butter. Allow the mixture to sit for two minutes, then stir until smooth.1 cup (171g) semi-sweet chocolate chips1, 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, ⅓ cup (80mL) heavy cream
- Once the ganache is smooth, pour it over the cookie + nut mixture and stir to coat. Allow the mixture to rest for about 10 minutes to cool down.
- Place a piece of parchment, wax paper, or plastic wrap onto a flat surface, then carefully pour the mixture onto it. Use your hands to shape the mixture into a log about 8" long and about 2" in diameter.
- Roll the log up in the wrapping, then twist the ends to close and seal it. Place the log in the refrigerator to firm up, checking on it after about 1 hour to reshape5 it a bit. Chill for at least 4 total hours, but ideally overnight and up to 1 week.
- When you’re ready to slice the log, pour the powdered sugar onto a flat surface or into a shallow dish like a casserole dish or baking sheet. Unwrap the salami and roll it in the powdered sugar, using your hands to spread the powdered sugar over the entire chocolate surface.¼ cup (30g) powdered sugar
- Use a large serrated knife to slice the log into ½" slices before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered tightly for up to 2 weeks. Log or slices freeze well, with or without powdered sugar, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. You may want to re-coat the log.
Notes
- Chocolate chips: you can also use chopped bar chocolate.
- Cookies: there is a lot of wiggle room here, and if you want your chocolate salami to be gluten free, this is where you’d swap in a favorite gluten free cookie. Choose a plain, crispy, crumbly cookie. I used about 18 Nilla Wafers. You could also consider biscotti, shortbread, animal crackers, Biscoff cookies, or graham crackers.
- Pistachios: I used dry roasted unsalted. If you’re using salted, know your salami will be saltier than a variety made with unsalted nuts.
- Additional nuts: I used walnuts, but you can use any nut you prefer, even additional pistachios. Consider using pecans, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, or almonds.
- Reshape the log: I find reshaping the log after it has chilled a bit but not the whole way to be helpful in keeping the log shape. This is a totally optional step, so if you don’t have the ability to tend to your salami, that’s totally ok. You don’t have to unwrap it to reshape– just use the warmth of your hands through the wrapping to encourage the most round shape you can.
- Dairy-free/vegan: you can easily use dairy-free cookies, butter, chocolate chips, and coconut cream for this recipe.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.