Nutella Balls, a little nutty, a whole lot of chocolate and so scrumptious. A soft, healthy, delicious snack or treat loaded with hazelnuts and homemade Nutella.

At the end of 2020 Ryan and I decided to get a little healthier. We lessened our carbs and sugar. We felt so much better but missed sweets like there was no tomorrow.

These Homemade Nutella Truffles or Nutella Balls were just the ticket. They are sweetened with dates, chewy with a little crunch, chocolatey and full of hazelnut-y goodness (in the shell and the homemade Nutella).

HOMEMADE NUTELLA VS STORE-BOUGHT NUTELLA:

Nutella is a hazelnut flavored chocolate spread. Its thinner than most peanut butters, very sweet and fabulous in this hazelnut recipe.

Making Nutella at home is simple if you have the right equipment. You can see how I make my own homemade Nutella HERE. Making your own can take some time (15-30 minutes) but is well worth it if you want all the flavor while controlling the carb count.

If you don’t have time or prefer store-bought Nutella, feel free to use your preferred chocolate spread in this recipe. Just remember, store-bought Nutellas and chocolate spreads will have a lot of added sugar where as my homemade Nutella uses a low calorie sweetener to lessen the carb count.

MEDJOOL DATES VS DEGLET DATES:

For this recipe, you can use either type of dates BUT Medjool offers a better texture, and in my opinion a better flavor.

Medjool dates have a softer almost caramel-like flavor. They are often also larger. Deglet dates are still very sweet, their flesh is more firm, and they are significantly smaller.

Deglet dates are usually less expensive than medjool dates. If price is a concern, go with the dates that are least expensive, usually deglet.

COCOA VS CACAO POWDER:

Cacao and cocoa powder are very similar as they come from the same place. Cocoa powder is processed at a higher temperature.

Cacao powder is less processed and holds more nutritional value because of that. It’s also slightly more bitter when compared to cocoa powder.

TIPS AND TRICK FOR MAKING BETTER NUTELLA BALLS:

• Use MEDJOOL for a richer flavor
• Use cacao powder to increase nutritional value of the Nutella balls.
• Refrigerate the hazelnut date dough AND the Nutella before filling. This will help set the mixtures so it’s easier to form the balls.
• For ease and convenience use store-bought Nutella. To lower the carb count, use homemade Nutella sweetened with a zero calorie sweetener.

HERE’S THE FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE. ENJOY!

Recipe adapted from Chloe Ting.