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    » Home » Recipes » Naturally Sweetened Desserts » Boozy Chocolate, Hazelnut and Orange Truffles

    Boozy Chocolate, Hazelnut and Orange Truffles

    Posted: Dec 20, 2013 · Updated: Oct 5, 2020 by Jenny McGruther · This site earns income from ads, affiliate links, and sponsorships.

    There's a soft, cold hush that arrives with the snow.  My curtains are drawn, and I can see into our tree-covered backyard where cold birds flee - magpies mostly, but occasionally doves and woodpeckers - seeking a bit of shelter beneath the snow-covered branches as they peck at the seeds and tallow in our neighbors' bird feeders.  It's days like these, hushed and dampened by the snow, that I can hear the beating of their wings as they fly in and away.

    Winter leaves me sleepy, quiet, and isolated.  Self-isolated, anyway.  I treasure the quiet.  I avoid the furor of the holidays, even sneaking away with my husband and son to mountain hideaways where neither cell phones nor internet works (yes, these places do still exist, thankfully).

    Winter also calls me to the kitchen where I envision, bake, and make sweet things almost obsessively.  Sprouted Spelt Cookies? You betcha. Spiced Molasses Cookies? Of course! Traditional Panettone?

    One recipe has lurked obsessively in my head for the last two weeks: Super Boozy Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Orange Truffles.  I worked the recipe out in random thoughts as I drove to our favorite farm or sat in the winding line at the post office.  Honey or unrefined cane sugar, or both? Orange zest or juice? Is a quarter cup of Frangelico and a quarter cup of Grand Marnier too much? Of course not!

    I played with the recipe, wanting each truffle to smack the tongue with a not-so-subtle shot of booze.  It's the holidays after all, and a time of sweetness and celebration and special treats.  The truffles are delightfully gooey, with the texture of a softened Tootsie Roll candy.  I use blanched hazelnuts in this recipe, for two reasons: their texture is smoother, and they also are more easily digested as they lack the papery skin surrounding most nuts that contain enzyme inhibitors that make nuts difficult to digest for some people.

    It's a wonderful little truffle: not too strikingly sweet, but deliciously boozy and spiked with orange, hazelnut, and cocoa.  If I were heading to holiday parties, I'd bring these, but I'm sitting in the quiet cold of my home where I'll sip tea and nibble one on my own, in solitude.

    Chocolate, Hazelnut and Orange Truffles
    Rate this Recipe
    2 dozen Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

    Boozy Chocolate Hazelnut and Orange Truffles

    Spiked with Grand Marnier and Frangelico, these whimsical, boozy little truffles are a festive treat for the holidays. Unrefined cane sugar and chestnut honey bring sweetness to ground hazelnuts, while cocoa and orange zest give them a deep flavor. Chestnut honey, rich and dark with chocolate undertones, lends a wonderful depth of flavor to these truffles. I purchase chestnut honey online and use it sparingly, only for special treats. If you cannot find it, you can use any honey available to you locally.
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time8 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
    Print Save RecipeSaved! Click to Remove Ads

    Ingredients

    • 3 ½ cups blanched hazelnuts
    • 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
    • 1 ¾ cups unrefined cane sugar
    • ¼ cup honey
    • ½ cup water
    • 4 tablespoons Frangelico
    • 4 tablespoons Grand Marnier
    • 1 tablespoon hazelnut extract
    • ¼ cup baking cocoa
    • powdered sugar for dredging the Chocolate Hazelnut Snowballs

    Instructions

    • Dump the hazelnuts and orange zest into a food processor and process until very finely ground.
    • Pour sugar, honey and water into a saucepan set over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Allow it to bubble and foam, stirring continuously, for 6 minutes, or until all the sugar granules dissolve completely and the mixture thickens to a foamy syrup. Turn off the heat.
    • Pour the still hot sugar syrup over the ground hazelnuts, close up the food processor, and process for two to three minutes. Continue processing, and pour the Frangelico, Grand Marnier and hazelnut extract into the food processor's feeder tube one tablespoon at a time or until the mixture thins and becomes slightly liquid. Dump in the cocoa powder, and continue processing a further 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture becomes completely smooth and uniform.
    • Transfer the sweetened and seasoned hazelnut mixture into a bowl, cover it tightly, and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 12 hours.
    • Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and scoop out 1 tablespoon of the hazelnut mixture, form into a ball and dredge it in confectioner's sugar or cocoa powder. Continue working until you've exhausted the batter. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, and serve chilled.
    Rate this recipe!If you loved this recipe, give it a rating. Let us know what works, what didn't and whether you made any adjustments that can help other cooks.
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