Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles & Amy Atlas

Do you have an idea book?

You know, a binder where you store all of the great ideas you see in magazines?  Kinda like retro Pinterest.
{Remember life before Pinterest?}

Here's ONE of my idea books.  Food & Wine did a feature on dessert tables by Amy Atlas waaaaaaay back in 2009.
{Remember 2009?}

I had never seen anything so pretty in my whole life.  A color-coordinated dessert table?!?  It went immediately into my idea book.  Well, it's 2012 now...and Amy Atlas, queen of gorgeous dessert tables, has a beautiful new book called Sweet Designs.

The book is filled with dessert tables like this one:

{Oh, how sweet!}

And this one:

{Oh, how fun!}

 In Sweet Designs, you'll find all of the instructions for baking the desserts (plus short-cut options), crafting the displays, and styling the table.

It makes you want to have a party.

Amanda from i am baker gathered several of us together celebrate and to make one of Amy's recipes...I made the Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles.

In the book, they are actually part of a Halloween table, but the beauty of the ideas is that they are so easily adaptable.  I made them for spring.

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

{adapted with permission from Sweet Designs by Amy Atlas}

3/4 cup hazelnuts
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup Nutella
6 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature
sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350.  Lay hazelnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes.  Transfer immediately to a dish towel, cover and steam for 1 minute.  Rub vigorously with the towel to loosen the skins.

Chop the hazelnuts (don't worry about an skins that are still on the nuts), and measure out 1/2 cup.  (Eat or save any excess.)

Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.

 

{Side note: I am never without these chocolate chips.  Throw a handful in a container of Fage 2% Greek yogurt.  Lunch=done.}

Remove from heat and stir in the butter and Nutella.  Stir in the chopped hazelnuts.  Refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until scoopable.

{At this point, I contemplated grabbing a spoon and parking myself and the bowl in front of The Young & the Restless.  Be strong, my friends.}

Place the sprinkles on a rimmed plate. Scoop the chilled chocolate mixture by the tablespoon into the palm of your hand and roll into a ball. Roll the truffles in the sprinkles. (You'll probably need to wash your hands several times during this process.)

Place on a cookie sheet and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Amy would love for a Bake at 350 reader to have a copy of her book!  Yay!  All you have to do to enter is, leave a comment right here on the blog.  That's it!  Any comment...well, any polite comment. ;)

{Giveaway runs through midnight, April 30th.} 

***giveaway closed! congrats to lizy b.!*** 

 

 

Aaaaand, there's more.  All of those bakers celebrating Amy today?  Well, we're ALL giving away a copy of Sweet Designs.  So, for more chances to win, go visit these lovely ladies:

Amanda Chocolate Cupcakes {Amy Atlas Giveaway}

The Adventure of Sweet Sugarbelle: Amy Atlas Book Giveaway  

TidyMom: Honey Panna Cotta

Two Peas and Their Pod: Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sweetapolita: Pink Eclairs

Sweetopia: Chocolate Beehive Cupcakes

My Baking Addiction: Banana Whoopie Pies

Bakingdom: Mini Strawberry Trifles

{Please forgive me for 2 posts in a row with giveaways. I just didn't want you to miss out on either chance to win...} :)