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    Home • Recipes • Gluten Free Recipes

    Chocolate Hazelnut Rocher Truffles

    Published: Dec 17, 2013 · Modified: May 9, 2023 by Jill Colonna13 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    How to make your own homemade chocolate and hazelnut truffles, Rocher style. Easy, no bake and great for making with kids.

    Extra Crunchy & Nutty Truffles

    As I got the ball rolling with chocolate hazelnut macarons for holiday gifts this weekend, Julie and Lucie had other ideas on the side. Shopping for macaron ingredients at our local supermarket, they were instead eyeing the shiny, festive towers of Ferrero Rocher's golden foil-wrapped little crunchy milk chocolate hazelnuts.

    Lucie remembered seeing a recipe for Rochers at home, in a tiny little book that came with a cute bear mould (which they have never used, alas) in her stocking last Christmas. With the advance thought of her dental brace being put in today, it was essential in her book to cram in as many sweet - and especially crunchy treats - as possible before she had to em-brace (sorry!) the orthodontist's less than sweet, strict toothy diet restrictions.

    Chocolate Hazelnut Rochers

    Adapted from  L'atelier Oursons & Guimauves by Aline Caron. To make them extra crunchy and nutty, we toasted the hazelnuts in the oven first (extra step but so worth it). We also coated them in dark chocolate, although the recipe calls for milk chocolate, if you prefer.

    With some leftover crushed hazelnuts, it's an ideal decoration for chocolate hazelnut macarons (recipe in Mad About Macarons): just brush on some chocolate ganache and sprinkle the nuts on top.

    For the best presentation, place each rocher in mini bright foil cases for festive effect. In our case, they were pounced on so fast, it wasn't even necessary.

    homemade chocolate hazelnut rocher truffles

    Chocolate Hazelnut Rocher Truffles

    Jill Colonna
    How to make your own homemade chocolate and hazelnut truffles, Rocher style. Easy, no bake and great for making with kids.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 50 minutes mins
    Chilling Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
    Course confiserie
    Cuisine French
    Servings 30 bites

    Ingredients
      

    Milk Chocolate Ganache

    • 200 g (7oz) milk chocolate
    • 1 tablespoon whipping cream 30% fat
    • 30 whole hazelnuts

    Chocolate Hazelnut Coating

    • 100 g (3.5oz) dark chocolate 60% cacao
    • 100 g (3.5oz) hazelnuts crushed
    • 2 tablespoon broken wafer biscuits (optional)

    Instructions
     

    Prepare the Ganache

    • Heat the tiny bit of cream in a saucepan (yes, it does look so little but trust me, this is correct!) and add the broken bits of milk chocolate. Using a whisk, once the chocolate has melted, take off the heat and, using a balloon whisk, mix quickly until you have a mixture that resembles a gorgeous, chocolatey putty.
    • Using a teaspoon and your fingers, break off a walnut size of milk chocolate 'putty', roll it in the palm of your hands into a ball. Push a toasted hazelnut into the centre and roll again, ensuring that the hazelnut is completely covered. Complete the process until you have 30 balls then chill in the fridge for about 40 minutes.

    Hazelnut Coating

    • Melt the milk chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water (bain-marie). As soon as the chocolate has melted, take off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Meanwhile, crush the hazelnuts (and wafers, if using) in a food processor (or place them in a bag and bash them using a rolling pin) then place them in a round bowl.
    • Dip the cooled rocher balls into the chocolate and immediately roll them in the crushed hazelnuts.
    • Place the rocher chocolate nutty truffles on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and leave to set at room temperature for 1½ hours.
    • Heat the oven to 180°C and roast all the hazelnuts in the oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. If you prefer, you could wipe off the skins using a tea towel.

    Notes

    These little rocher bites can keep for up to 5 days, kept in a cool place.
    Keyword chocolate hazelnut truffles, homemade rocher truffles

     

     

    More Gluten Free Recipes

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      Rhubarb Sorbet (Sorbet à la rhubarbe)
    • green asparagus spears baked in a roasting tin topped with toasted hazelnuts
      Oven-Roasted Asparagus (Asperges rôties)
    • cup of lemon ice cream with strawberries
      Creamy Lemon Ice Cream (Glace au citron)
    • gratin dish of sliced potato bake with autumn leaves
      Gratin Dauphinois (Creamy Potato Gratin)
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    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill

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    1. Enrique

      December 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm

      This rocher truffles looks good you can post other candy recipes of the book of L'atelier oursond and guimauves,pleace.thanks

      Reply
    2. Lucie

      February 16, 2014 at 8:02 pm

      I wish you could make these rocher again, they were so much fun to make and especially to eat 😉 🙂

      Reply
    3. Lora

      December 30, 2013 at 11:59 pm

      Both the candy and the macs = wow!

      Reply
    4. Shirley Moffat

      December 20, 2013 at 6:56 pm

      Another super recipe Jill - it is nice to make something different at Christmas as it is so easy to buy everything but I think we all appreciate items that have been home made. I am sure Julie and Lucie loved helping you make these sweets!!

      Reply
    5. Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures

      December 19, 2013 at 10:17 pm

      These look way better then rocher truffles!

      Reply
    6. Jen

      December 18, 2013 at 7:05 pm

      Ooh I love those things! I never thought to make my own...

      Reply
    7. Jamie

      December 18, 2013 at 10:06 am

      (oooh I love the macaron ball christmas decorations!!). These rocher truffles look outrageously good and I'll bet they are even better than the store bought. Fabulous... and they balance out perfectly with macs! I really do want to make some (only because they are pretty and because I love them so much).

      And macs under the tree? Well... on the tree? Chocolate and coffee but for the holidays they must be sprayed with gold! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours, dear Jill!

      Reply
      • Jill

        December 22, 2013 at 7:07 pm

        Hope you enjoy them, Jamie. Thanks for all your lovely comments and support on le blog. It's you that's sprayed in gold this festive season! Cheers to delicious adventures in 2014!

        Reply
    8. Vicki Bensinger

      December 18, 2013 at 4:00 am

      Ooh I love these Jill but please tell me what is the equivalent to a dessert spoon in U.S. measurements? My husband would love these as would the rest of us.

      Reply
      • Jill

        December 18, 2013 at 9:15 am

        I've updated the recipe, Vicki. It's a tablespoon.
        Enjoy them and have a wonderful holiday!

        Reply
    9. Marilyn Smiser

      December 18, 2013 at 12:30 am

      My macarons turned out. Feet and no cracking. I have to credit "Mad About Macarons".
      Merci

      Reply
      • Jill

        December 18, 2013 at 9:16 am

        Thank you for getting in touch, Marilyn. If that's your first recipe from the book, there's no stopping you now! Enjoy yourself.

        Reply
    10. Marilyn Smiser

      December 17, 2013 at 10:40 pm

      As I am reading this, my first recipe out of your book - macarons are doing their 30 minute wait till the oven. My fingers are crossed. Yours look great.

      Reply

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