Hazelnut Easter Eggs (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
GLUTEN FREE II VEGAN II SOY FREE II DAIRY FREE II EGG FREE II NIGHTSHADE FREE II GUT FRIENDLY II YEAST FREE
Try these amazingly delicious, chocolatey hazelnut butter Easter eggs. They have only 5 ingredients and can easily be made vegan by swapping the honey for maple or agave.
I find that many of the Easter eggs available in supermarkets are made from cheap ingredients and the chocolate tastes synthetic, like eating plastic. This is not the kind of chocolate I'm looking for. These healthy vegan alternatives are a great option.
So, I wrote a recipe that I’m sure you will absolutely fall in love with. This is a great recipe to gift to your friends, too ( if you don’t eat them all first). They take less than an hour to put together, so get your apron on!!
Chocolate
I like to use chocolate with a cocoa content of 70%, meaning that 70% of the chocolate has been made from ingredients in the cocoa bean. The remaining 30% will consist of other ingredients, such as sugar, predominantly but may also include, for example, tiny percentages of vanilla flavouring. The higher the percentage, the stronger the cocoa flavour, which means it will be more bitter and less sweet.
Use whatever chocolate you find palatable. Sometimes I will use 70/80% in my cooking and add a little extra sweetener like honey/agave/maple syrup. Dark chocolate is almost always dairy free unless it’s a cheap brand where they will add crappy fillers. My fave brands to eat and use in cooking are ( also allergy friendly)
Green & blacks - Click here to go to the website.
Ombar - Click here for more info - buy this online at well easy OR in Waitrose or health food shops.
Raw chocolate - Click here for more information.
Plamil chocolate - Click here for more info.
Montezuma 100% cacao chocolate - suitable for yeast free diets just add a few drops of stevia to sweeten.
If you have a soy allergy, always opt for raw chocolate, as it will not contain any soy ingredients. (Always check on the label, though.)
Hazelnut butter
The brand of butter I used is meridian brand and I used the crunchy one. Feel free to use the smooth variety. I like to have a little texture in these Easter eggs. However please make it to your preference.
Sweetener
I always use raw organic honey in my recipes. However if you are vegan then feel free to swap for agave/ maple/ coconut blossom nectar. Or swap for stevia if this needs to be a yeast free recipe,.
Vanilla
The brand that I always use is Nielsen Massey which is an extract, Vanilla essence is a more processed product that’s made using artificial flavors and colors. As vanilla extract is made primarily from vanilla beans soaked in ethyl alcohol and water, it tends to have a more distinguishable vanilla flavor. Use vanilla powder if you are following a yeast free diet, availble on amazon.
Ingredients
Tips
Roll into balls instead to make truffles if it’s less time-consuming for you.
Storage
Keep these easter eggs in the fridge either on a tray or in a container.
Makes 12 Eggs - 1 hr prep & chilling time
Equipment 1 inch Easter egg cutter ( optional)
Step by step
Recipe
100 g hazelnuts
100 g hazelnut butter
2 tbsp organic honey/agave/maple/stevia
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
150 g 70% dark chocolate - 100% chocolate if this needs to be yeast-free
Toppings *optional
chopped pumpkin/ sunflower/ linseeds
freeze dried raspberries
chopped hazelnuts
Method
Start by dry roasted your hazelnuts in a frying pan for 4/5 minutes till slightly golden. Leave to cool before blitzing into a coarse breadcrumb texture.
Mix the blended hazelnuts with the hazelnut butter, sweetener of choice and vanilla. If the hazelnut mixture is too dry add a little more hazelnut butter, it should be like a dough that’s easy to roll and shape.
Divide into 20 g balls and press into a small Easter egg cutter or shape by hand. My cutter was a 1 inch cutter.
Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Once the hazelnut mixture is firm then drop into the melted chocolate, and transfer onto a tray lined with greaseproof.
Top with your desired toppings or leave them with just chocolate.
Variations
You could add any type of nuts to this recipe try almonds, cashews or peanuts. Experiment with other toppings like coconut, hemp seeds, and cacao nibs.
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