Welcome chocolate hazelnut lovers! If you love yourself a cookie dough truffle or a chocolate hazelnut treat, these chocolate hazelnut cookie dough truffles are for you. They're all the things you want in an easy dessert treat:
- Easy to make
- Only seven ingredients
- Gluten-free & vegan
- Easily customizable
- Perfect to make-ahead
Ingredients & substitutions for chocolate hazelnut truffles:
- Chocolate Hazelnut Butter: see the Note below for details, but make sure it's vegan to keep this recipe dairy-free & vegan. I love using my homemade vegan chocolate hazelnut butter! Seek out refined sugar-free chocolate hazelnut butter to make these refined sugar-free truffles.
- Maple Syrup: any liquid sweetener will work here, like honey, agave, or a sugar-free sweetener. Granulated sweeteners should also work well in this recipe.
- Almond Flour: you can also use hazelnut flour to amp up the hazelnut taste!
- Sea Salt: take care on the amount of salt if your chocolate hazelnut butter has salt already added to it!
- Vanilla Extract: for extra flavor - can be skipped, but I recommend adding it in.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: to mix into your truffles! You can skip this if you don't want little bites of chocolate in your truffles. Be sure to use mini chocolate chips - regular size will be a little too large for these bites.
- Dark Chocolate: for melting, you can use chips or your favorite chocolate bar chopped into bits. I like using a darker chocolate for this (I used a 75% cacao bar).
- Cacao Butter or Refined Coconut Oil: this helps thin out the chocolate which makes dipping the truffles easier. I prefer cacao butter if you have it because it stays firmer at warm temperatures, but coconut oil works as well.
Which chocolate hazelnut butter should I use? I love using my homemade chocolate hazelnut butter! Store bought is also fine of course, just make sure the one you choose is vegan. Nutella is delicious, but it unfortunately uses milk products. I personally love the Spread The Love chocolate hazelnut butter, and there's a few great brands you can usually find in the nut butter section of your grocery store.
How to make chocolate hazelnut truffles:
Full printable recipe is in the recipe card below!Step One: start by making the chocolate hazelnut cookie dough-style filling by mixing together the chocolate hazelnut butter, maple syrup, sea salt, vanilla extract, almond flour, and chocolate chips. It should come together into a cohesive dough.
Step Two: use a spoon or a cookie scoop (I used this small cookie dough scoop) to portion out the chocolate hazelnut truffle filling and place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes to firm up slightly.
Step Three: You can leave these chocolate hazelnut truffles as more of a cookie dough-style bite if you skip the chocolate dip. Or, make them more decadent and dessert-like by dipping the chocolate hazelnut cookie dough bites into melted chocolate. If you want to dip the truffles, roll each cookie dough bite into a ball between your palms and place back on the baking sheet. Place in the freezer while you melt the chocolate.
Step Four: melt the chocolate and cacao butter in a small microwavable bowl or saucepan. Use a dipping tool or fork to dip all the truffles, and garnish with chopped hazelnuts. Let firm up in the fridge for at least 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy! See more tips for dipping truffles below.
Tips for dipping the truffles:
- Using a truffle dipping tool to help dunk the chocolate and let the excess drip off. If you don't have one of these, a fork works pretty well in its place. I have this set of dipping tools and use the round spiral one for this. The spoons are perfect for drizzling and the longer tong style ones are perfect for dipping bars like these snickers bars.
- Don't skip the cacao butter or coconut oil in the melted chocolate. This helps thin out the chocolate, which makes for easier dipping.
- Use a small bowl for dipping. I personally use a tiny saucepan I grabbed at a thrift store ages ago (I think it's technically a butter warmer). The small width makes dipping the entire truffle easier.
More fabulous truffle recipes:
Need more chocolate hazelnut in your life?
Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles
- Author: Rachel Conners
- Yield: 12-18 truffles, depending on size 1x
- Diet: Vegan
