Around Christmas, there is always a party or gathering to attend to and, of course, many times you want to bring a small gift if you are invited by friends or relatives to say thank you. In my case, I like to bring something homemade instead of a bottle of wine or something else from a store. Around Christmas there is so much you can bring – homemade Christmas Stollen, Christmas cookies, or, for example, this Hazelnut Nougat Chocolate Candy. It’s easy to prepare and makes a nice gift I think ;)

Whenever you bring homemade chocolate candy, people almost always ask something like “Did you make these yourself?”. They look good, but not perfect as if you’d bought them in a store – and that’s exactly why people ask ;P Many do not believe you can make something like this so easily at home.
Homemade chocolate candy is always a great gift – not only around Christmas – and so easy to prepare… with a little bit of help, of course. A professional chocolatier would make the whole chocolate candy from scratch. Someone like me uses pre-made hollow chocolate spheres* ;) They make everything so much easier. All you have to do is prepare a filling you like, pipe that into the chocolate spheres, and then coat them with some more chocolate or whatever you like. You could make your own hollow spheres, but for that, you need special equipment and you also need to know how to temper chocolate perfectly in order to get the right texture. Save that time and money for something else ;P
If you got the chocolate spheres – which can be made with different types of chocolate (semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate) – all you have to do is create a delicious filling. You can do something sweet, something fruity, nutty, boozy… all up to you. You can make a whipped chocolate ganache, or something with chocolate nougat (like I did), or maybe a custard-like filling – you got a lot of options here. You just have to make sure the spheres are sealed properly with chocolate after you filled them to make sure everything stays where it’s supposed to.

I’ve decided to go for a filling with chocolate nougat (Viennese nougat) and hazelnuts. The perfect combination, in my opinion. Maybe you found something similar in stores already ;) A large Italian chocolate candy brand sells something similar all over the world…
Anyway. This chocolate candy has the perfect size to disappear in your mouth without anybody noticing ;P I really have to be careful with these little sweet treats. Back in the days when I did not care much about sugar, I could have eaten ten of these little balls at once. Nowadays I have to limit myself to one a day. Which is fine. This way you can enjoy them much longer ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the chocolate candy:
1.4 oz. (40g) ground hazelnuts
2.5 oz. (70g) milk chocolate coating
7 oz. (200g) hazelnut chocolate nougat aka. Viennese nougat (for baking)
1 tbsp. honey
5.3 oz. (150g) butter, at room temperature
75-80 hollow chocolate spheres
For the decoration:
8.8 oz. (250g) semi-sweet chocolate coating (chocolate)
1 tsp. coconut oil
1.4 oz. (40g) hazelnuts, finely chopped
Für die Pralinen:
40g Haselnusskerne, gemahlen
70g Vollmilch Kuvertüre
200g Nougat (schnittfest)
1 EL Honig
150g weiche Butter
75-80 Pralinenhohlkörper
Für die Dekoration:
250g Zartbitter Kuvertüre
1 TL Kokosfett
40g Haselnusskerne, fein gehackt

DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Chop the chocolate coating and add to a heatproof bowl along with the nougat, and honey. Melt slowly over a pot with simmering water – do not let the mixture get too warm. When everything is melted and mixed well add the toasted hazelnuts and fold in. Let cool down completely, cover, and place in the fridge overnight.
3. Whip the chilled chocolate nougat mixture in a kitchen machine or with a hand mixer until light and creamy. Add the soft butter in small portions and mix well until everything is light and fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip and then pipe into the hollow chocolate spheres and fill those completely – make sure the filling is flush with the edges of the openings in the spheres to get a smooth surface. Place the chocolate candy in the fridge for about 2 hours.
4. Chop the semi-sweet chocolate (coating), add about 7 oz. (200g) of it together with the coconut oil to a heatproof bowl, and melt it slowly over a pot with simmering water. Remove from the stove, add the remaining chopped chocolate and stir until it has melted as well. If necessary, place back on the stove again very briefly to warm the chocolate once more. Add the chopped hazelnuts to the melted chocolate and fold in. Dip the chocolates one by one into the mixture, coat them completely, then place them on a wire rack to dry. If you like, you can wrap the chocolate candy in gold foil before serving or giving it as a gift.
2. Die Kuvertüre grob hacken und zusammen mit dem Nougat und Honig in eine hitzebeständige Schüssel geben. Über einem Topf mit köchelndem Wasser langsam schmelzen lassen – achtet darauf, dass die Masse nicht zu warm wird. Wenn alles geschmolzen ist und sich gut verbunden hat, die gerösteten Haselnüsse dazugeben und unterrühren. Abkühlen lassen und dann abgedeckt über Nacht in den Kühlschrank stellen.
3. Die gut durchgekühlte Nougatmasse mit der Küchenmaschine/Handmixer cremig aufschlagen. Die weiche Butter in kleinen Portionen dazugeben und untermixen, bis alles schön fluffig und hell ist. Die Masse in einen Spritzbeutel (mit kleiner Lochtülle) füllen und dann in die Pralinenhohlkörper damit befüllen – die Füllung sollte mit dem Rand der Hohlkörper abschließen, damit es eine glatte Oberfläche ergibt nach dem Abkühlen. Die Pralinen für etwa 2 Stunden in den Kühlschrank stellen.
4. Die Zartbitterkuvertüre hacken, etwa 200g davon mit dem Kokosfett in eine hitzebeständige Schüssel geben und über einem Topf mit leicht köchelndem Wasser langsam und vorsichtig schmelzen. Die geschmolzene Schokolade vom Topf entfernen und die restliche Kuvertüre unterrühren, bis auch diese geschmolzen ist – ggf. noch einmal ganz kurz auf den Topf stellen zum Anwärmen. Wenn eine glatte Schokomasse entstanden ist, die gehackten Haselnüsse unterziehen. Die gefüllten Pralinenhohlkörper nacheinander in die Masse geben, komplett überziehen und dann auf einem Kuchengitter trocknen lassen. Wer mag, kann die Pralinen vor dem Servieren oder Verschenken noch in Goldfolie einpacken.


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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Hazelnut Nougat Chocolate Candy
- Prep Time: 01:00
- Cook Time: 00:00
- Total Time: 12:00
- Yield: 80 1x
- Category: Confectionary
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Homemade chocolate candy is the best. You decide what’s going in and what flavors you want. These ones here are filled with hazelnut chocolate nougat. So good!
Ingredients
For the chocolate candy:
1.4 oz. (40g) ground hazelnuts
2.5 oz. (70g) milk chocolate coating
7 oz. (200g) hazelnut chocolate nougat aka. Viennese nougat (for baking)
1 tbsp. honey
5.3 oz. (150g) butter, at room temperature
75–80 hollow chocolate spheres
For the decoration:
8.8 oz. (250g) semi-sweet chocolate coating (chocolate)
1 tsp. coconut oil
1.4 oz. (40g) hazelnuts, finely chopped
Instructions
1. Grind the hazelnuts finely (or use already ground hazelnuts) and toast them in a coated pan without fat or oil until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside and let cool down.
2. Chop the chocolate coating and add to a heatproof bowl along with the nougat, and honey. Melt slowly over a pot with simmering water – do not let the mixture get too warm. When everything is melted and mixed well add the toasted hazelnuts and fold in. Let cool down completely, cover, and place in the fridge overnight.
3. Whip the chilled chocolate nougat mixture in a kitchen machine or with a hand mixer until light and creamy. Add the soft butter in small portions and mix well until everything is light and fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip and then pipe into the hollow chocolate spheres and fill those completely – make sure the filling is flush with the edges of the openings in the spheres to get a smooth surface. Place the chocolate candy in the fridge for about 2 hours.
4. Chop the semi-sweet chocolate (coating), add about 7 oz. (200g) of it together with the coconut oil to a heatproof bowl, and melt it slowly over a pot with simmering water. Remove from the stove, add the remaining chopped chocolate and stir until it has melted as well. If necessary, place back on the stove again very briefly to warm the chocolate once more. Add the chopped hazelnuts to the melted chocolate and fold in. Dip the chocolates one by one into the mixture, coat them completely, then place them on a wire rack to dry. If you like, you can wrap the chocolate candy in gold foil before serving or giving it as a gift.
Notes
Enjoy!
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