Hazelnut Truffles (Nutella Balls)

I’ve been making these balls for years, inspired by the multiple recipes for peanut butter balls that are floating around the internet (and I’ve made peanut butter balls as well—delicious). Most peanut butter ball recipes call for peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, butter, and either Rice Krispies or graham cracker crumbs. I prefer graham cracker crumbs, but both are tasty.

These balls are super-easy! The longest time commitment is waiting for them to firm up in the freezer but I think the results are well worth it. The balls turned out rich and creamy, not too sweet, definitely decadent. The graham crackers add a nice little crunchy change of texture to the fresh Nutella balls as you eat them, although the crunchiness will go away as the graham cracker crumbs have a chance to be moistened by the rest of the filling.

These don’t have to be stored in the fridge, although you might want to consider it (or at least chilling them before serving them) to keep the filling firmer. I haven’t tried this with peanut butter yet, but I think it should work fine, especially if you are using a typical peanut butter (i.e. not a natural peanut butter) that already has sugar, such as Skippy. There is a second recipe listed in my blog post, my “original” recipe that I used to use, which definitely works great for peanut butter, and would probably be the best one to use if you are using any natural nut butters that don’t have a lot of added sugar. But for Nutella, I like this recipe best!

1. Combine butter, Nutella, and crumbs until well mixed and uniformly moist.

2. Using a #60 scoop, scoop out filling and form into balls. Place balls on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet and freeze for 1 hour.

3. When ready to dip, melt candy coating wafers, and thin with vegetable oil.

4. Dip the Nutella balls in the coating, tapping off the excess, and place onto a wax paper-lined cookie sheet to harden.

Garnish as desired.

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen.