We made it to Friday! If there’s ever a need for chocolate* the time is now.
*A double dose of chocolate.
Let’s get back in touch with candy addiction today. I took a break from candy when my book tour ended earlier this year. My teeth hurt. But actually, my candy thermometer broke. Overuse perhaps? Or maybe because I dropped it into a sink full of water. Again. But we won’t be needing that thing today because all you need to make truffles is a spoon. And self control.
Oh and some awesomely delicious ingredients by the names of: hazelnuts, quality chocolate, Nutella, butter, and cream.
Truffles are a delicious science!
These truffles are a deep dark chocolate hazelnut crunch experience and I’m thrilled for you to make them this holiday season. Homemade chocolate truffles are a combination of cream and pure chocolate. This combination is also referred to as chocolate ganache, an emulsion. An emulsion is a mixture of two incompatible liquids: oil (cocoa butter) and water (cream). Mixing them together requires some TLC. Stir it together softly and slowly. Rigorous stirring may introduce air bubbles, creating an oil film on the surface after it sets. You definitely don’t want that.
When recipes have very few ingredients, it’s important to choose quality. You need pure chocolate, not chocolate chips, as they contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting properly. Great for chocolate chip cookies, but not ideal for recipes like this. Some pure chocolate bar brands I reach for: Baker’s, Ghirardelli, or Lindt “Excellence” chocolates. Toasted hazelnuts will go inside the truffle mixture as well as sprinkled on top. Smooth chocolate, crunchy toasted hazelnuts. It’s all so beautiful. Remember what I said about quality? Use Diamond of California, always has been and always will be my favorite.
Do you see the left picture above? That’s the start of the truffle recipe. Begin melting the chopped chocolate in the microwave, but not melt it completely. Then we’ll pour warm cream on top and stir the two together. Remember, gentle stirring. Once smooth, you’ll stir in Nutella and softened butter. It’s basically homemade chocolate ganache with Nutella, butter, and hazelnuts. YUM!
Lastly, the chopped toasted hazelnuts:
Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface. You want it completely protected. Chill it in the refrigerator, then roll. If you’ve ever made homemade truffles, rum balls, or Oreo balls before, you know that rolling is always a little messy. You’ll get chocolate on your hands, so have a kitchen towel or paper towels handy to wipe your palms clean as you roll. The reason it’s so sticky? We want a soft and smooth truffle. The trade off is a sticky situation.
Tip: If you find that the mixture is too soft, roll it as best you can then let the balls sit out at room temperature to briefly dry for 20 minutes or so. Go back and roll them each out to smooth the surface. Much easier now!
It’s the return of the mighty spiral swirly dipping tool! Let me explain. I always use this dipping tool set when I dip truffles and candies. I shared a video of dipping truffles earlier this year in this dark chocolate coconut rum truffles post. Basically, dunk the entire truffle into the melted or tempered chocolate then lift out with the spiral tool. Quickly flip it over onto a lined baking sheet then make a little swirl motion as you lift the tool off the truffle. I’m sure that made zero sense, but go to the 1 minute mark in this dark chocolate coconut rum truffles video and you can see!
Drizzle with any extra chocolate you have leftover then sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts. If you’ve never made truffles at home before, the time is now. There is truly nothing more satisfying than sinking your teeth into a homemade truffle, especially a truffle that’s smooth, soft, and hazelnutty crunchy. ♥
Think of them as Nutella tart or Nutella crinkle cookies in candy form. With extra chocolate on top. 😉
PS: I’m super thorough in my instructions, don’t be nervous!
Print
Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Truffles
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 40-45 truffles
- Category: Candy
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sweet, rich, and nutty chocolate hazelnut crunch truffles with Nutella.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (450g) semi-sweet or milk chocolate, coarsely chopped and divided*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 1/3 cup (100g) Nutella
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (90g) toasted and finely chopped hazelnuts, divided*
Instructions
- Place 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Microwave in four fifteen second increments, stirring after each, for a total of 60 seconds. Stir until almost completely melted. Set aside.
- Pour cream into a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisking occasionally, heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat, then slowly pour over the chocolate. Gently begin stirring with a wooden spoon in one direction. Do not forcefully stir, always be gentle! Once the chocolate and cream are smooth, stir in the Nutella and butter until combined and smooth, then stir in 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts. Cover with plastic wrap pressed on the top of the mixture then allow to sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes. Then place in the refrigerator until it reaches “scoopable” consistency, about 4 hours.
- Line a lage baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Remove mixture from the refrigerator. Measure 1 teaspoon, roll mixture in your hands into a ball as best as you can, then place on the baking sheet. The mixture will be a little sticky. Coat your palms with a little cocoa powder, which I find helps you handle the mixture. Repeat rolling the rest of the mixture. (A rolling tip: If you can’t roll into perfect balls, do the best you can and place on the baking sheet. The air will help “dry out” the truffles. After 15 minutes, you’ll be able to roll them into neater balls.)
- Coat in chocolate: You can melt the remaining 8 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. (Alternatively, you can temper the chocolate.) If using the microwave: place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. I like to use a liquid measuring cup. Its depth makes it easier for dipping. Melt in 15 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth.
- Dip each truffle completely into the chocolate using the spiral dipping tool or a fork. When lifting the ball out of the chocolate, remember to tap the dipping tool gently on the side of the bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place balls back onto the baking sheet after you dip each one. Drizzle with any leftover chocolate. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chocolate has completely set before serving.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Layer truffles in a tupperware between parchment paper and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze for up to 2 months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Wooden Spoon | Candy Dipping Tools | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Double Boiler or Liquid Measuring Cup (for melting chocolate) | Chocolate Tempering Thermometer (only needed if you temper your chocolate) | Squeeze Bottle (for drizzling)
- Chocolate: Make sure you are using quality, pure chocolate. Not chocolate chips. Use milk chocolate for a sweeter truffle.
- Hazelnuts: Simply use chopped Diamond of California hazelnuts. These are found in the baking aisle. You can toast them for a deeper flavor; I suggest it! To toast them, spread them out on a lined baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes at 300°F (149°C). Let them slightly cool. Then, put them into a food processor and pulse a few times to really chop them up fine. You want small pieces of nuts.
As with your other recipes, I opted for the Ghirardelli melting chocolate, then rolled them out wearing a pair of latex gloves. Came out perfect!
Hi team!
I was just curious if I could turn these into cake pops by sticking a lollipop stick into them. I’m concerned they might not hold up but thought I’d get your opinion!
Thank you!
Sarah
Hi Sarah, We’ve never tried it but can’t see why it wouldn’t work. You can follow our tips for dipping them in our post all about cake pops.
Hi Sally, I’m wondering about the chocolate to cream ratio in this recipe. How come so much more chocolate than cream, as opposed to your standard Chocolate Truffle recipe? I’ve also been wondering about the fat content of nut butters and how it affects the recipe. Any insight would be welcome!
Hi Aileen, The Nutella is much softer than regular chocolate, so these are the ratios that we found work best when adding Nutella to the truffles. Using nut butters in recipes really depends on the other ingredients in that recipe – most of the time (but not always) swapping from say peanut butter to almond butter is ok as long as it’s not particularly oily. Let us know if there is a specific recipe you wish to know about!
hello Sally, I made these once and they came out perfect & so smooth . 2nd time ganache curdled (i think) would you know why did it happen ? thank you in advanced!
Hi Kate, there’s a few factors that go into a perfectly smooth ganache – see the section titled “Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache” of this blog post for some ideas. Thank you so much for giving these a try!
Amazing and incredibly easy to follow. Have made them three times and everyone has raved about them.
Hello,
This is a super weird question but I’m fairly new to cakes and baking and went out to a restaurant and had the most AMAZING roulade (Chocolate Hazelnut) and now I totally want to try and make one. I was wondering if the filling of this truffle would be spreadable as a layer in the roll?
Either way these look incredible!
Thank you!
Hi Shoneth, the filling might be a bit too thick to spread onto a cake roll, but let us know if you give it a try! For something similar, you might like the cocoa hazelnut whipped cream that we use in our Yule Log recipe.
Oh, yes! This is the stuff! I have been looking for a hazelnut truffle recipe, and this one is great. It never occurred to me to have pieces of nuts inside- what a delicious revelation! I made this to fill bonbons, in hard chocolate shell hearts (complete with edible gold leaf!). I made a few modifications- I made it vegan! My daughter is vegan, and I wanted her to be able to have one (yes, one).
I used Silk Protein Nut Milk in place of cream, because it is thick and rich. I used salted Earth Balance in place of butter, But- I used half the suggested amount, and substituted 1 T of toasted hazelnut oil, which is delicious. I got raw, organic hazelnuts from nuts.com, roasted them at 350 F for 12 minutes. When they cooled a bit, I put them between two ceramic bowls and shook hard to sluff off the skins. I did this a couple times. Then I put them in a thick freezer bag and crushed them first with a rolling pin, then with the flat end of a meat tenderizer. They are so fragrant this way! Oh, and I also used Nutiva Hazelnut Spread in place of Nutella which I got from Thrive Market, because it is vegan and it does not contain icky palm oil. They make it in ‘regular’ and dark. I used the regular one, because I did not want the chocolate flavor to overpower the hazelnut flavor.
Thank you Sally for the inspiration!!
I must give 5 star for this delicious chocolate truffle recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Srikanth from India
Chocolate Mantra
I made what I call a truffle cookie bar. Where I took pie crust and put it on a large baking pan then sprinkled cinnamon sugar over it and baked it when it came out I poured a dubble recipe of truffle batter over it then sprinkled finely chopped hazelnuts on it covered it and put it in the freezer.
These truffles were delicious! I will definitely make them again. I did not get the correct number of servings though, it only made about 20-25 for me and the amount of chocolate for coating wasn’t nearly enough either.
These truffles look SO good, Sally! My mom’s birthday is this Sunday, and my sister and I are planning on creating a chocolate hazelnut layer cake with Nutella and all the decorations and additions we can possibly stuff in there! I was thinking a bunch of truffles would look nice on top, and my thoughts immediately went to this recipe. I’ll definitely let you know how they turn out! I’m positive they’ll be just as great as all if your other wonderful recipes!:)
Hi Sally I have just tried this recipe but it was a bit of a disaster lol. The Chocolate had a very thick lumpy texture when I added the heated cream even though I stirred it very gently in one direction. Do you know what I might have done wrong?
Love your recipes by the way and Congratualtions! Thank you
Hi Holly! Are you using pure chocolate? (not chocolate chips or anything like that) I can’t imagine why it would clump up because the hot cream should be melting it.
Thanks for the fast reply. I’m a new baker and I have fallen in love with your website so I’m experimenting. Yes I used Belgium milk chocolate. I think it’s the chocolate not melting properly. Would you recommend a chocolate melting pot for this issue? I have made the cookie dough truffles too and had the same issue with the chocolate.
Maybe it’s the type of chocolate or the brand. A double boiler could help, but what about a brand like Ghirardelli or Bakers? Can you get your hands on either?
Can I chill the ganche overnight and make the truffle later?
You sure can, however, make sure you let the ganache sit at room temperature for at least an hour or so to let the ganache soften up a bit so it is easier to work with.
I have been making truffles for years every Christmas. These are, hands down, the best truffles ever! I live in Oregon, which is supposedly THE hazelnut state and I had to go to three stores to find the hazelnuts. Worth the effort. Sally, these truffles are amazing!
❤️
Sally B
These look great! If freezing, would you freeze them before or after coating in chocolate?
Either would work!
Just made these yesterday to treat my coworkers on a cold, dark Monday and they are amazing! 🙂
Mine were really soft on the inside which was so good!
Could full fat coconut milk be used in place of heavy cream?
I believe a few readers have tried it before on another similar recipe with luck! I’ve never personally given it a shot, but let me know how it goes.
Can you make these with dark chocolate?
Yes absolutely!