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.

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.

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.

Here are some of the other treats I made-

* Pistachio and Peppermint White Chocolate Bark

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

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

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.

Coconut Macaroons

I made these macaroons as holiday treats last Christmas, but they're simple and tasty enough to be baked and enjoyed all year long. I started out with this recipe but ended up making a couple of changes along the way to give the macaroons a hint of Indian flavor.

Ingredients :

(For approximately 10 macaroons)

1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut (I got mine from the Indian grocery store)

½ cup sweetened condensed milk

Salt

1-2 Tbsp milk

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Method:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Grease well and set aside.

Mix the coconut, condensed milk, cardamom powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add a splash of milk (just enough to bring the sticky mixture together) and mix well.

Drop mounds of the mixture (each about 1 tablespoon) onto the baking sheet at least an inch apart from each other.

Moisten your fingertips with water and shape the mounds into little pyramids on the baking sheet. (Dip your fingers in cold water every now and then if the mixture gets too sticky to handle.)

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (start checking after 15 minutes) or until the edges and tops start turning brown.

Cool completely before removing from the foil. I found this a little difficult to do even though my foil was greased well, but in the end I did manage to get them all off without them breaking or cracking.