Monday, December 24, 2012

Easy Hazelnut Fudge

I  love giving homemade food gifts during the holiday season. Last week, I made a few different kinds of treats- some old favorites, some new finds- and filled up more than a dozen holiday themed take-out boxes and festive bags, and gave them away as gifts. An assortment of goodies- chocolate truffles, bark, fudge, cookies and peppermint bark brownies- went into each bag.

Gift bag2




This hazelnut fudge was one of the things that went into my gift bags. The fudge is rich, creamy, and smooth and melts in your mouth.

Hazelnut fudge1

Ingredients:

(makes 64 small pieces/squares)
  • 10 oz semi-sweet chocolate (I used Baker's baking squares)
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp coffee powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp Nutella
  • 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ - ¾   cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped (reserve a handful to sprinkle over the fudge before it sets)
  • A pinch of salt



Method:

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8- inch baking dish and line with parchment paper.


In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and butter. Add the condensed milk, vanilla extract, coffee powder, Nutella and salt. Microwave in 45-second increments for 3-5 minutes  and mix well in between. Stir in the toasted and chopped hazelnuts.  Mix well until the mixture is smooth and everything comes together.


Pour the thick mixture into the prepared baking dish, smooth the top and sprinkle the reserved hazelnuts all over the surface.


Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (I let it sit overnight in the refrigerator). Once the fudge has set, take it out of the dish and cut into bite-sized pieces using a sharp knife.


Hazelnut fudge2



Here are some of the other treats I made-
* Pistachio and Peppermint White Chocolate Bark
White
choc-peppermint-pista bark1

Line a baking sheet with foil. Melt 8 ounces of white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour the melted chocolate over the lined baking sheet and spread it with a spatula to get a layer that is about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle the top evenly with crushed candy canes and chopped pistachios. Refrigerate until firm. Cut/break into pieces and serve.


* Orange-flavored truffles
Truffles1
Although truffles are simple enough to make any time of the year, I usually get down to making them only during the holidays.  I use this recipe as the base and make different kinds of truffles by changing the flavors (vanilla, orange, peppermint, balsamic vinegar) and toppings (toasted and chopped nuts, cocoa powder, sweetened coconut flakes, crushed candy canes, toffee bits).
This time I made orange flavored truffles and used toffee bits, cocoa powder and toasted and chopped hazelnuts as my toppings.


* World Peace Cookies
WP Cookies1

I consider myself to be a fairly decent baker, but for some reason, I’ve had no luck with cookies despite numerous attempts. This very popular recipe for world peace cookies (I found it here) is the only cookie recipe that has actually worked well for me.



6 Burps:

Swati Raman Garg said...

hey TBC! remember.. urs pics are as great as ever! iam tempted to make some truffles now, have been thinking of doing it for long

Laavanya said...

What a tasty assortment of goodies TBC - Love them all. The fudge looks decadent.. i'm not a fan but A loves fudges of all kinds - will try it for him some time.
Happy New Year!

sharikahline said...

TBC -Happy New Year! I have loved your blog even since I bumped into it. The hazelnut fudge looks very good!

TBC said...

Swati! Nice to see you here, and it's so sweet of you to say that! Hope you are doing well. :)


Laavanya- Thanks! How can anyone not like fudge? :)



Sharikahline- A very happy 2013 to you too, and what a nice thing to say! :)

Rachel said...

The bark with the added pistachio looks especially delicious! Definitely making me hungry!

TBC said...

Rachel- Thanks!

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