Recipe - Chocolate Hazelnut Kisses

6 ounce Whole hazelnuts
2 teaspoon Baking soda
One fourth cup Sugar
1 cup Heavy cream
1 pound Bittersweet chocolate;
chopped finely
2 tablespoon Unsalted butter
2 tablespoon Amaretto or other nut
liqueur; or dark rum,
(optional)
1 pound Tempered chocolate for
dipping

TOO HOT TAMALES SHOW #TH6349

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring large pot of water to the boil and add
the baking soda. Drop in the hazelnuts, bring back to a boil, and blanch 10
seconds. Drain hazelnuts in a colander, then spread out on a baking sheet
in a single layer. Place in oven and roast 8 to 10 minutes until light
brown. Remove from oven, place a kitchen towel over the pan, and allow to
cool completely.

Rub cooled hazelnuts between your palms; the skins should slip right off.
Set aside 50 whole hazelnuts. Grind the rest very fine in a food processor
fitted with the metal blade and set aside.

Place sugar and heavy cream in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add the
chopped chocolate, let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in
the butter. Pour the ganache into the bowl of an electric mixer and allow
to cool until set. Fit the machine with a paddle and beat the set ganache
on medium speed until aerated and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the
reserved ground hazelnuts and the liqueur if using. Beat well to thoroughly
combine.

Load mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2inch plain tip. Line a
baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Pipe out 1/2inch balls. On top
of each ball, press in one of the reserved whole toasted hazelnuts until it
is halfway buried. Place pan in refrigerator to chill completely.

To coat, place tempered chocolate in a medium bowl. Line 2 baking sheets
with parchment or waxed paper. Get yourself 2 forks. Place one nuttopped
ball on the prongs of one fork, nut up. Lower the fork into the melted
chocolate, covering completely. Lift fork up, pause 3 seconds to allow
excess chocolate to drip off, then run bottom of fork along top of bowl to
remove excess chocolate. Place fork on paperlined pan and use second fork
to push off the candy while you withdraw the first fork (it's easier than
it sounds). Keep the nut up at all times. Repeat with remaining centers. If
it's warm out, place the finished candies in the refrigerator to set;
otherwise they will set at cool room temperature (65 degrees). Yield: about
50

Both of these candies make great Christmas presents packed into little
boxes or baskets. They are involved but can be done easily in large
batches. One day of work can yield many gifts. You can make a double of
triple batch of truffle ganache and divide it, beating different flavorings
into different parts.

Posted to recipeludigest by molony molony@scsn.net on Feb 24, 1998