* pinchofwholesome.ca is the new domain name for dairyfreeindulgence.com

I never knew raw dessert could have such amazing aroma! The heavenly aroma smell coming from the food processor is ferrero rocher and it’s dairy free and naturally sweetened. These dairy free Ferrero Rocher chocolate hazelnut truffles are made from whole foods, packed with protein from hazelnuts and they are date sweetened. Healthy Ferrero Rocher truffles that are as good for you as bliss balls, but with a Ferrero taste! Go ahead, let your kid (or the kid in you) have a few!

Yield: makes about 25-30 truffles, can be divided in half

tip: try to get the hazelnuts on sale or a good price so you can use enough for rich hazelnut flavor.

This recipe for ferrero-like you date truffles/bliss balls is very forgiving and customizable to your needs, so you can add more or less of the ingredients to your taste, as some people dont like dark or intense chocolate,some like things very sweet, some like less sweet etc. I have left the ratios slightly open depending on the type of chocolate you have and how bitter it is, in the recipe I share the brand of fairy free chocolat chips I like the best for flavor, as I’ve tried a bitter kind before, not all dark chocolate is created equal!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups roasted hazelnuts (roasted and salted form store or diy roasted as below. A little more hazelnuts can be used for rich hazelnut flavour, but I kept it budget friendly): reserve about 35 hazelnuts for the centre of the Ferrero truffle for later use. I’ve done it with a little less before and its good too for more budget friendly, but not as hazelnuty.
• scant 1.5 cups hazelnuts for crumbled topping to roll the truffles in
• 30 extra hazelnuts for the hazelnut centre (I would just get a 400-500 gram bag or so of hazelnuts in total for the whole recipe to be safe)
• 11/4 tsp coconut oil, as needed for processing, not too much or it will be messy to handle!
• optional: 2 tbsp cacao butter, melted
• heaping 3/4 cups canned coconut cream, chilled 4 hours to solidify the cream, scoop up the top cream part only
• 3 cups cup pitted baking dates (plus extra dates or maple syrup to sweetness preference and depending how bitter your df chocolate is and if using dark or semisweet chocolate) dates should be soft and sticky (* if your dates are not soft and sticky soak in hot water 15 minutes and drain (If using Medjool dates which are even more delicious, but more expensive and sweeter, they’ll change the sweetness ratio here so you can use much less, then work up according to sweetness preference)
• 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips (or a tiny bit extra depending how dark you like your chocolate), melted or softened (70% or less dark chocolate, I prefer the Enjoy Life chocolate brand most for dairy free chocolate,)
• 1/3-1/2 cup cacao powder (to darkness preference ex milk chocoalte vs. dark chocolate-taste test and remember they will be in a dark chocolate shell)
• Sea salt, tiny pinch, omit if your hazelnuts are salted
• 3 drops hazlenut extract or vanilla extract
• Optional extra: 1/4 cup more chocolate chips or some maple syrup or more dates to taste depending if you’re a darker chocolate person or a big sweet tooth person (first taste test before adding)

• Ingredients for Chocolate shell for truffle coating:
• approx 290 grams of dairy-free chocolate, approx 1.5 cups+6 tbsp chocolate chips or chunks
• 2 tbsp+1/2 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp cacao butter or coconut oil
• 1/5 tsp Maple syrup or sugar, optional

Recipe:

1. If not already roasted and salted, roast the hazelnuts for smooth processing: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread hazelnuts on a parchment paper lined sheet pan in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and roast for 11-14 min or til golden. Let cool.
2. Set aside approx 30 hazelnut halves for the centre of the ferrero truffle. Place the rest in processor and process nuts first into a crumble and set aside about a scant cup of ground hazelnuts to roll in later.
3. keep the rest of the hazelnuts in the food processor to make into chocolate hazelnut butter for the filling. add 1 tsp of coconut oil, melted cocoa butter, vanilla extract, and process for a few minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides with a spatula. make a fairly smooth hazelnut butter, it will become smoother once you add the coconut milk cream though. add the dates, chocolate chips and coconut cream (just the solid part) and process into a very chunky hazelnut butter, stopping to scrape down the sides.
4. Add the (drained) soft dates and coconut cream and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides.
5. If your processor needs it, add a half tsp. more coconut oil or melted cocoa butter to process into a smooth paste, stopping and scraping down sides every so often. melt the chocolate, stir in extract and cacao powder and add it and process until homogenous.
6. have a taste test; if you like it sweeter blend in a few more pitted dates or a pinch of coconut sugar or maple syrup. If you like it more chocolatey add another spoon of cocoa butter(can never go wrong with more cacao butter, but i know not everyone has it) or if you like a dark chocolatey flavor add up to a 1/4 cup extra chocolate chips.
7. Pour mixture into a greased or parchm. paper lined silicone brownie pan. Place in fridge to set few hrs or overnight (if overnight, let it sit out after to be malleable, but dont let it sit too long as it will get melty and messy to work with..though not impossible).
8. Prep reserved crumbled hazelnuts on a parchment paper lined or nonstick large rectangular cake pan. Use a melon baller or teaspoon and your hands (more messy with warm hands) to scoop and add a hazelnut to the centre then add more mixture to close the truffle (don’t skip this, this creates the Ferrero Rocher experience though it is a date ball!). then roll in crumbled hazelnuts. repeat with all. Don’t worry they will no longer be gooey once finished.
9. cover and refrigerate a few hrs (2 hrs or more or overnight) to firm up and become cold.

chocolate coating:

1. About 35min – 1 hr before taking them out prep the chocolate hard shell by melting the 3 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips with the coconut oil over low heat, stirring. once smooth take off the heat, and let it cool so its not hot.
2. take the truffles out and pour the hardshell overtop. stir gently.
3. Cover the cake pan with seran wrap (if u used a sheet pan instead of a cake pan then cover with a cake pan so the seran/cover doesn’t touch the coating.
4. Place in fridge until firm, but not hard (if u leave it overnight just give them a few mins to soften) once set, break off pieces of hardshell that stick out the bottom.
5. if you have extra chocolate you can pour another drizzle/coat on once the truffles have firmed up or just store the hardshell for topping on coconut whipped cream or ice cream.

Serve or keep cool until an hour or so before serving so they don’t get too melty, esp. in the summer!

These are a delicious no-bake dessert that is dairy free, gluten free, vegan, paleo and sugar free (yet you cant tell!)

They make a cute gift and share item. Enjoy delectable Ferrero rocher truffles guiltlessly!

Plus its a kid friendly healthy dessert packed with protein from hazelnuts and healthy fats. like a delectable fancy energy ball truffle really.

( Store leftovers in fridge)

*If your dates are old, and after soaking still seem hard make date paste with coconut cream and a tiny but of coconut oil first before adding nuts

Note: in my vid i had run out of dark choc halfway thru the truffles so i have doubled the choc hardshell recipe to account for this so dont worry!plus the drizzled verus fully coated ones was great for variety too!

If you like this recipe and share it tag me on instagram @dairyfreeindulgencerecipes #dairyfreeindulgencerecipes (I know the name is long but dairyfreeindulgence was already taken on insta!) , I’d love to see your versions of my recipe 🙂