Healthy Homemade Ferrero Rocher (To Celebrate My 22nd Birthday!)
Mmmm… Ferrero Rocher® — you know, that popular chocolate truffle-like candy with a whole hazelnut in the center, surrounded by a thick layer of chocolate fudge, wrapped in a crunchy thin wafer, and then coated in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnuts?
Did your jaw just drop to the floor?
And are you drooling?
Because that’s what I’m doing and I’d hate to be alone on that one… hint hint, drool with me 😉
Are you drooling??? Yes? Good.
Ferrero Rocher® is dear to my heart. While it wasn’t necessarily my favorite candy as a child (I preferred Hersheyz, Snickerz, Oreoz, and Pop Tartz), whenever I see a box of these candies at the store, I remember all the times my grandpa used to buy them for me every time I’d visit him. Especially on my birthday.
I never had the guts to tell him that I actually didn’t like hazelnuts, so I ate them without complaining. When he wasn’t looking I’d pick out the hazelnut in the center and give it to my sister.
I found out just last week that I’ll be seeing my grandpa this December when I’m done with my Fall semester and back home in Connecticut for the holiday break. Literally, the second I heard, “grandpa,” I thought of Ferrero Rocher®. I immediately remembered those chocolate goodies — the chocolate fudge, the hazelnut crunch, mmmm.
I wanted needed to make a healthified version ASAP. My taste buds have changed since I was a kid and I have fallen in love with hazelnuts. But, I haven’t changed that much… I made a batch of Healthy Homemade Ferrero Rocher for the chocolate part 😉
Healthy Homemade Ferrero Rocher
Ingredients
Truffles:
- 2 Large Avocados
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
- 1 tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 105g (¾ cup, packed) Chocolate Brown Rice Protein Powder
- 10g (2 tbs) Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- 16 Whole Hazelnuts
Coating:
- ½ cup Chopped Hazelnuts
- 6 oz 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate (melted)
Instructions
- Slice the avocados, remove the pits, and put the flesh into a medium-sized bowl (the flesh of my avocado weighed 292g). Add the vanilla paste and stevia extract. Blend with a hand blender (I used my KitchenAid Hand Blender with Star Blade) until smooth. This measured 1⅓ cups after pureeing.
- Add the protein powder, cocoa powder and salt and blend again (the mixture should be thick like frosting).
- Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Use a 1½” cookie scoop to scoop the fudge cream onto the prepared pan. Press the hazelnuts into the center of the scoops and refrigerate uncovered for 1 hour.
- In a bowl, stir the chopped hazelnuts into the melted chocolate.
- Roll the chocolate "scoops" into balls, then dip them into the melted chocolate. Place the balls back on the pan. Refrigerate until firm. Wrap the balls in squares of tin foil and refrigerate to store. Keeps for 3 days.
Recipe Notes
As a comparison, here is the nutrition label for storebought Ferrero Rocher®. Since my Healthy Homemade Ferrero Rocher are a bit larger than the storebought version, a typical nutrition label comparison wouldn’t be very accurate. I made the nutrition label comparison to compare by weight.
Compared to the original, my homemade version is lower in calories, fat, carbs and sugar, and higher in fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals! Oh, and mine are all natural too. The storebought kind contains “vanillin” — the artificial version of vanilla extract. Is it really that hard to just use pure vanilla? Nuh-uh. Didn’t think so.
Soooo… yeah, I’ll take mine. And like, three (or all) of them.
Join me please 😉
My Homemade Ferrero Rochers are quite larger than the storebought version. I didn’t have a small cookie scoop (#60) so I had to use my regular cookie scoop (#30). Yes, that big. But I don’t really care, because that’s just more chocolate to shove in my face. Aaaaanyways… feel free to use a small cookie scoop if you have one.
And grandpa, if you’re reading this, I’m super excited to see you this December! You are so strong, independent, kindhearted… and occasionally super stubborn… but you have always been a role model to me. You make me laugh, you make me think about what’s really important in life. I hope you enjoy these Homemade Ferrero Rocher when I make them for you this winter! Only a few more months.
.
With love and good eats,
.
– Jess
.
Indulge − no strings attached!
happy birthday! I love this recipe, I miss the fact I can’t have ferrero rocher since going vegan and these will do the trick.
Happy Birthday Jessica, hope you have a blast. The ferraro rochers look amazing, I can’t wait to try. And unlike you I looove hazelnuts so all the more reason to make them 🙂
Happy birthday 🙂
I would eat those everyday! Why not? They’re healthy.
Marie-
Haha I agree COMPLETELY!! Ferrero Rochers everyday? I can definitely do that 😉
Thanks so much Marie! Have a great week 🙂
-Jess
Wow, really impressed! can’t wait to try these!! happy bday!
Happy birthday, Jessica! Love your healthy version of my favourite chocolate! Is there a way to get a crispy thin wafer coating in the healthy version so that life can be perfect? =) Thanks!
Oh, I wish! I have NO idea how the real Ferrero Rochers get that wafer inside the truffle.
You could try coating the truffles with crispy brown rice cereal instead of the chopped hazelnuts. That would definitely add some crunch! But it might not stay crunchy for long from the moisture from the fudge… soooo invite some people over and have a chocolate-eating party!
(can I be invited??) 😉
-Jess
Ferrero rochers are my all time favourite chocolate… I love any type of them be it white, milk or dark. So these home made inspired rochers are pefect for me to recreate. The best thing about them is how healthy they are! (Does this mean I can eat more to make up for the lost calories?)
Thalia @ Butter and Brioche-
YAY!! How perfect! 😀
Even though I never really liked hazelnuts as a kid, the white chocolate ones were the exception. OMG, so good!
I hope you get to make the recipe 🙂
And YES. In my eyes, lower-calorie desserts = extra servings 😉
-Jess
These look incredible. Will absolutely try the recipe this week! Thank you!
These are my all time fav candy!! I can’t believe what I am seeing here, these look so good and you made them healthy too!!
Ami @ Naive Cook Cooks-
Oh YAY!! I hope you like this DIY recipe just as much as the storebought stuff 🙂
Fingers crossed!
-Jess
Geez these look amazing!!!!!!!! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!:)
Kylie @ ImmaEatThat-
Awww thanks Kylie! I hope you get to try out the recipe 😀
-Jess
PS: Thanks for the tweet! <3
Belated HAppy Birthday Jessica! Hope you had great day! Wish you a happy fulfilling & stevia-coated life ahead. Lol 🙂
Ridhima-
Thank you so much Ridhima!! I had an AWESOME bday 🙂
I don’t know what the future holds, but I DO know that chocolate, peanut butter, and a billion other glorious healthy desserts will be involved somehow 😉
Have a great week!
-Jess
Happy birthday! I love Ferrero Rocher! They were definitely the “adult” candy I always eyed as a kid. It felt so special when I unwrapped the gold wrapper and popped one in my mouth.
I HAVE to try your version though. It’s a bit hard to get good protein powder here in Germany (also harder because I prefer mine to be vegan). Do you think I can swap it out for something else?
Thanks for the recipe!
-Aya
Thanks Aya! Oh my goodness, I felt the SAME exact way. Ferrero Rochers felt so fancy and sophisticated compared to gummy bears and basic Hershey’s chocolate bars 🙂
I hope you get to try out the recipe! I don’t know if the protein powder can be replaced here… it absorbs a lot of moisture so that it thickens into a fudge-like texture. Without it, it will be more like a pudding.
You can try using finely ground oat flour instead, but I’m not sure exactly how much. You will probably need about 1 cup.
Since the protein powder comes pre-sweetened and contains cocoa powder, I would also recommend increasing the stevia extract to 1+1/2 tsp and the cocoa powder to 1/4 cup.
I hope this helps! 🙂
-Jess
I think the nutritional info is off. It says 220 calories for THREE truffels of the comercial version & 140 calories for ONE of yours.
Ashley-
I know, above the nutrition labels I explain why I do that 🙂
My DIY Ferrero Rochers are quite a bit larger than the storebought version because I used a #30 cookie scoop. I would recommend using a small #60 cookie scoop if you have one (or a heaping teaspoon measuring spoon). I compared the nutrition labels by weight.
-Jess
Happy birthday, Jessica!!
Wow, you’ve done it again. These look hella good. Can’t wait to indulge. Are you vegan now??
Kasey-
Aw thanks so much Kasey!!
I hope you get to try out the recipe, and I hope you LOVE it 😀
I’m not vegan but I’m trying to incorporate more vegan options on the blog since so many people ask for vegan substitutes 🙂
-Jess
Awh, thats lovely! I must say – i was in SHOCK when i read you were TWENTY ONE! wow. Missy, you’re a VERY impressive 22 year old. I also thought you had finished college. I admire your devotion to college and this blog – i know how demanding college is (also going into my last year – eeeep!)…i dont know how you have the time to do both! I really am impressed. I read on your blog you do something about nutritional science or something is it? I know it must have science in it…i can tell by the way you create your recipes you do understand the science behind it all!
Again, so impressed!
Keep up the good work!!
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Hi Jess, would you have any suggestion on how to replace the protein powder with something else, I am not using any processed food in my diet…
Thank you 🙂
Elena-
I don’t know if the protein powder can be replaced here… it absorbs a lot of moisture so that it thickens into a fudge-like texture. Without it, it will be more like a pudding.
You can try using finely ground oat flour instead, but I’m not sure exactly how much. You will probably need about 1 cup.
Since the protein powder comes pre-sweetened and contains cocoa powder, I would also recommend increasing the stevia extract to 1+1/2 tsp and the cocoa powder to 1/4 cup.
I hope this helps! 🙂
-Jess
I was VERY disappointed to see that this protein powder contains carcinogenic ingredients and that there is a warning label on the side of the box. After further research I’ve discovered that this is true of many protein powders, particularly if they have rice as one of the proteins.
Hi Renata,
I don’t think we’re looking at the same protein bar box… I just checked both of mine (in chocolate and vanilla) and there is no “carcinogenic” warning label. The protein powder does not contain any added toxic ingredients — it’s all-natural.
Though, all rice contains trace amounts of arsenic, if that is what you are talking about. This isn’t dangerous to humans in the level we consume rice at (we would have to eat rice alone about 50x a day to get even close to an unhealthy amount). In fact, many foods contain arsenic, like apples, fish, etc.
I hope this explains things a little further! 🙂
-Jess
What can be a good replacement for the rice protein? What is the quantity you used? Where I leave it is not easily available. Thanks! They look so yummy!
I used ¾ cup of brown rice protein powder in the recipe. It adds both sweetness and some chocolate flavor, and it also thickens up the fudge. Without the rice protein it’ll be like a pudding. I’m afraid I don’t know of any good replacements, sorry! I order my rice protein from Amazon because it’s a lot cheaper than in stores 🙂
-Jess
Love this! Ferrero Rochers are one of my all time favorite chocolates. I just made them and they are delicious.
Azu-
Thanks so much for making the recipe! Yours look AWESOME 😀
-Jess
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I would say toasted sesame seeds would make a nice coating I had them on the outside of a similar chocolate it was yum !
Is there anything you can sub for the protein powder if you didn’t want to use it?
Keely-
I don’t know if the protein powder can be replaced because it absorbs a lot of moisture so that it thickens into a fudge-like texture. Without it, it will be more like a pudding. You can try using finely ground oat flour instead, but I’m not sure exactly how much. Probably ~1 cup? And, since the protein powder is naturally sweetened and contains cocoa powder, I would also recommend increasing the stevia extract to 1+1/2 tsp and the cocoa powder to 1/4 cup.
I hope this helps! 😀
-Jess
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jess your nutrition facts are amazing, but I want to go a bit further with lower fat and carbs, any suggestion?
I guess you could try using no-sugar-added chocolate! My favorite is Lily’s.
Hi. I’m a bit late to the party but just found your recipe.
Just wondering if there is a substitute for the stevia? I’m allergic to it so won’t be able to eat these otherwise… ☹
tia
I haven’t tried replacing the stevia here so I can’t be sure. FYI 1 tsp of stevia extract has the sweetness of about 1 cup of sugar. I think I’ve seen people use monk fruit sweetener and stevia interchangeably, but I’ve never bought that before. I’d recommend using monk fruit extract from NuNaturals because it seems to measure like stevia (or Monk Fruit In The Raw or Lakanto) 🙂