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.

Gianduia Brownies

I’ve tried a lot of brownie recipes over the years and have posted a few of the ones I’ve liked here. Although I found my perfect brownie recipe a while back, I just can’t seem to stop looking for new recipes to try out!

I recently made a batch of Gianduia brownies using a recipe I saw on Epicurious. Here is the recipe with my modifications-

Ingredients:

(For 16 squares)

• 4 Tbsp butter
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used Baker’s)
• 2 Tbsp Nutella
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
• Salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and grease well.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium bowl in the microwave in 30 second increments. Mix well. Add nutella, vanilla extract, salt and brown sugar and mix well. Add the eggs, stir in the flour and mix again. Add the chopped hazelnuts and combine to get a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool and cut into squares.