Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles (Gluten Free, Paleo)

These vegan chocolate hazelnut truffles have a creamy chocolate and hazelnut filling that is rolled in chopped hazelnuts and coated in dark chocolate. This easy truffle recipe is not only vegan, but paleo and only sweetened with dates (no sugar added).

I'm quite fond of homemade paleo fudge, but truffles are also up there on my list of all time favorite desserts.

It's hard to resist a sweet, creamy filling surrounded by a layer of dark chocolate and topped off with a pinch of sea salt - that perfect combination of sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy!

And these vegan chocolate hazelnut truffles? Ooh, they are irresistible! These hazelnut truffles have a creamy filling that's coated in a layer of chopped hazelnuts and then encased in a dark chocolate shell.

Ingredients

The full recipe for these paleo hazelnut truffles can be found in the recipe card below, but here's an overview of what you'll need:

• dry roasted hazelnuts (unsalted) - hazelnuts are used in both the filling and the crunchy coating around the filling. I recommend dry roasted instead of raw hazelnuts, as roasting them brings out more flavor. If using raw hazelnuts, toast them in your oven for a few minutes prior to making these truffles.
• dates - I used Medjool dates, but any variety will work.
• almond butter - an unsalted, unsweetened almond butter is used in the filling, helping to achieve a creamy, nutty texture. Any nut or seed butter will work as a substitution. Just note, using a different nut/seed butter will slightly change the taste. My top recommendations for swaps would be hazelnut butter or cashew butter.
• coconut cream - Just like the almond butter, coconut cream is added for texture purposes. I have not tried this recipe without coconut cream, but imagine any nut or seed butter would work as a replacement. The end product will have a slightly different taste and texture, but if you cannot consume coconut then replacing it should work.
• cacao powder - since these are "chocolate" hazelnut truffles, they have cacao powder in the filling. Cocoa powder can be used instead.
• salt - brings out more flavor. If your almond butter is salted, then leave this out.
• dark chocolate - the dark chocolate coating is completely optional, but highly recommended! If you want these to be Whole30 friendly, then omit this ingredient.
• coconut oil - I combined coconut oil with the dark chocolate to make the truffles easier to dip; the coconut oil makes the melted chocolate runnier. You may omit this ingredient or use cacao butter instead.

How to Make Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Truffles are one of those desserts that look hard to make, but I assure you they're not! You can easily make them look decadent, fancy and store-bought without much effort. Here's what you need to do:

Make the Filling

1. First, combine dates and hazelnuts in a food processor. Make sure to remove the pits from the dates! Blend well.
2. Next, add in the remaining filling ingredients: almond butter, coconut cream, cacao powder and salt. Blend in the food processor until the mixture starts to clump - this should only take a few seconds.

Make the Hazelnut Topping

3. Using a large knife, chop the hazelnuts for the topping. Place the chopped hazelnuts into a small bowl.
4. Grab a small cookie scoop (one tablespoon in size) to scoop the filling and then drop it into the small bowl of chopped hazelnuts. Press the hazelnuts into the dough and use your hands to form the truffle into a ball.
5. Place the coated truffle on a lined baking sheet. Repeat until all of the filling has been coated and shaped into balls.

Freeze Filling

6. Next, freeze the truffle fillings. This step is important because it makes dipping the truffles into chocolate SO much easier! Freeze the truffles for about an hour, longer works too.

Coat the Truffles in Dark Chocolate

7. Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a small saucepan. Melt on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently. Once fully melted, remove chocolate from heat and turn off burner.
8. Grab the truffles from the freezer. One at a time, dip the truffles into the melted chocolate, coating completely. I like to do this using a fork. Scrape the fork on the side of the pan to remove excess chocolate. Place the truffles on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry.
9. After all of the truffles have been dipped, drizzle any extra chocolate over the truffles. Tip: add a little more coconut oil (½ tsp) to the chocolate and melt again on the stovetop. This makes drizzling the chocolate even easier!
10. Before the drizzled chocolate has a chance to set, add a pinch of salt to each truffle.
11. Set in the fridge or freezer a few minutes to fully set.

Storage

These hazelnut truffles need to be kept in the fridge or freezer. Place them in an airtight container or baggie and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or the freezer up to 3 months.

FAQ

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