I’ve made these a couple of times now as gifts and they seem to go down well.  Hmm, perhaps a little too well, with a coffee …

I’ve thermified and tweaked some weights and ingredients of I Quit Sugar’s recipe, as a lovely Facebook reader kindly asked me for my Thermomixed version, so I figured it would be rude not to share!!!  However, this is quite a rough version, so please let me know of any additional tweaking required, if you make them …

Makes 20-25 balls

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Add to an oven tray and roast for 10 minutes:

• 110g hazelnuts (about 25-30g of these are for the surprise in the middle; the other 80-85g will be chopped and used for the coating)
• 130g sunflower and pumpkin seeds (keep the hazelnuts separate from the seeds, as these will be used for the filling)

Rub the skins off the nuts using a tea towel (or a tip I’ve seen elsewhere is whizz them for 1 minute/rev/speed 1 – I haven’t tried this though).

Set aside 25 hazelnuts (about 25g-30g) and set aside the remaining hazelnuts separately.

Add to the TM bowl and process for 10 seconds / speed 9:

• 130g sunflower and pumpkin seeds

Add and turbo 3 times, then scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again for a few secs / speed 5, until smooth:

• 40g coconut oil
• 50g rice malt or maple syrup
• 20g almond or coconut milk, or milk of choice
• 20g raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp vanilla powder

Tip out onto some greaseproof and roll into a ball, then pop into the freezer for a wee while.

Meanwhile, add to the TM bowl and chop for a few seconds / speed 6 (scrape and repeat, if necessary, but bear in mind, we’re wanting to achieve a chopped nut, rather than hazelnut flour!):

• 80g or so of the reserved roasted hazelnuts

Place on a plate and set aside.

Grab another plate and place a sheet of greaseproof over it:

• Retrieve your big ball of chocolate filling from the freezer and divide/shape into small balls – aim for 25.
• Insert a whole hazelnut inside each ball, quickly massaging the mixture over the hazelnut to conceal it. Pop each ball onto the greaseproof-lined plate as you go.
• Once all done, pop into the freezer for 20 minutes (if time)

Meanwhile, clean and dry your bowl thoroughly.  I say this, as my chocolate didn’t melt properly and I ended up adding extra almond milk to help it along.  It was a little congealed, but I still managed to coat my balls and roll them in the chopped nuts.

Add to the TM bowl and chop 5 seconds / speed 8, then melt 50 deg / 2-3 mins / speed 3:

• 130-140g 85% dark chocolate (if you can use a {refined} sugar-free brand, all the better; just add a little rice malt syrup to sweeten, if need be)

Tip:  If you have some melted choc left-over, you can always make a hot chocolate!

To finish – work as quickly as you can here:

• Dip the cooled balls into the melted chocolate, then roll around in the chopped hazelnuts
• Place back onto the greaseproof lined plate and once all done, pop into the freezer again for half an hour to set – or in the fridge for a couple of hours. Whichever’s more convenient.

They’re worth the fiddling around, because they’re divine and make a lovely gift for a friend or member of the family … 😛