Ingredients:

* 1 cup of ground toasted hazelnuts

2 cups or 12 ounces of semisweet and/or bittersweet chocolate chips (good quality)

2/3 heavy of organic whipping cream

¼ cup of organic unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces

¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Create a double boiler by using a small pot of water on the stove.  Take a medium-sized mixing bowl that fits on top of the pot. Fill the pot, but make sure that the water doesn’t boil (indirect heating). There should be a gap between the bottom of the bowl and the water in the pot.
2. Fill the medium mixing bowl with the chocolate chips. Place bowl on the boiling pot. Lower heat, so chocolate chips slowly melt. Slowly stir chips as they melt (should take 5 to 10 minutes).
3. Once chocolate is melted, remove bowl from pot and stove.  Mix in cream, butter, and hazelnuts.  Stir until it is well mixed and the butter is completely melted.  Place in refrigerator for 1 hour or until firm.
4. Take bowl out of the refrigerator.  Pour the cocoa powder in a small bowl.  With a spoon, scoop out the firm chocolate and roll with hands into a ball.
5. Place chocolate ball into cocoa powder and roll around until completely covered.  Place Chocolate Truffle onto a cookie sheet or large plate lined with parchment paper. Put cookie sheet or large plate in refrigerator for about an hour or until firm.

*Note:  Purchase a large bag of raw hazelnuts (if you can’t find hazelnuts toasted) and preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spread whole Hazelnuts on a cookie sheet. Toast for 5-10 minutes (keep an eye on them because they BURN easily). Remove them from the oven. Use a clean cloth and roll the nuts back and forth to remove the skin. Grind them in a Food Processor.  You can store remaining crushed Hazelnuts in the freezer and use when needed to top salads, soups, yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, etc.

Bring a tray full of heavenly treats to your next dinner party or hand package them as DIY gifts. Fun to make but even better to share and eat!