Homemade Ferrero Rocher (Chocolate Hazelnut Balls)

I didn't realise I have this fantastic recipe hidden in Apple for Jam: Recipe for Life cookbook by Tessa Kiros which I bought a few years back. Not until I saw this post titled "Homemade Ferrero's" from Phoodie's blog.

I was attracted to the title and was surprised to see the recipe was adapted from Tessa Kiros' cookbook. I didn't recall reading any recipe of homemade ferrero's. So I went straight to my book shelf and flipped through the cookbook and then realised it was from a recipe titled "Chocolate Hazelnut Balls".

I couldn't wait any longer to dip my hands into this Nutella madness. Especially when the recipe calls for only 4 ingredients and no baking is required. Furthermore, these chocolate hazelnut balls are great for Christmas. Can you believe Christmas is only 11 weeks away?!

The accuracy of the four ingredients is really not that important. Phoodie (read it HERE) and Tessa (3 hazelnut wafer biscuits, 250 g roasted peeled hazelnuts, 185 g chocolate hazelnut spread and 250 g semi-sweet dark chocolate) both have different measurements of ingredients and I believe both versions will turn out well. It all depends on the wafer biscuits and nuts ratio you prefer. Then add enough of Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) to bind them together. Dip them into the melted pool of your preferred chocolate (dark, milk or a mix of both) and that is all!

Here is my version:

Homemade Ferraro Rocher (Chocolate Hazelnut Balls)

Ingredients

100 g hazelnut wafer biscuits, crushed
150 g hazelnuts
200 g Nutella
250 g semi-sweet dark chocolate (or milk chocolate)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Spread out the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and roast them in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until they are warmed through and aromatic. Remove from the oven and let cool and rub their skins off with a tea towel. Finely chop the hazelnuts.
2. Combine the wafer biscuits, chopped hazelnuts. Add Nutella and mix them with hands.
3. Roll approximately 1 heap teaspoon of the mixture into ball. Repeat and you should get around 30-40 balls depending on the size. (If the mixture is not firm enough to roll, put it in the refrigerate for 15-30 minutes until it's firm enough to roll into balls.)

   

4. Put them in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to firm up.
5. Melt the dark chocolate and let it cool.
6. Remove the balls from the refrigerator and dip them into the melted chocolate until well coated.

   

7. Let them set in room temperature or in the refrigerator if the weather is too hot.