Bittersweet Hazelnut Heaven

Do yourself a favor and don't make this recipe.  No good can come of it.

Oh Sweet Lord, why me?  Why did I make these blasted bars?  I keep getting tricked by making things I think are safe because I don't prefer an ingredient. I think I won't eat it only to find out I LOVE the ingredient, I just hadn't had it in the right context.  Dog gone hazelnuts!  

These are super easy to make.  I have already thought of a million variations you could make from the original recipe. (Coming to a blog near you.) They will make great Holiday gifts.  I took them to the Tovolo office and I kid you not, I could have gotten first born children from some the my co-workers based on reactions to these little morsels.  

They are addictive and wrong.  Save yourself - don't make them.

Ok.  If you do,  enjoy you are in for a treat.  (psst...do yourself a favor and save a few bars in the back of the refrigerator just for you.  Hide them in an old yogurt container or some other nondescript container that no one will be tempted to open.  You will thank me.  Rock on sister!)

I saw this recipe a few months ago on the blog Chocolate + Marrow - I love her blog.  Everything is super well crafted and you can tell she truly loves food.

Bittersweet: Bittersweet Chocolate Hazelnut Bars

Crust:

• 5 oz of Petite Cocoa Batons from Trader Joes
• ½ cup of semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• ¾ cups of nutella

Ganache filling:

• ½ cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Theo 70% baking bars)
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For topping:

• ½ cup of toasted hazelnuts, ground (I am lazy and used bigger pieces which I thought looked more dramatic and added some additional texture)
• I also added a little course sea salt which was delicious.

Method:

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Let the parchment paper hang over the edge of the pan so you can easily grab it at the end.

Grind or mash the batons into pieces.  In a medium size bowl, stir together the batons, the melted chocolate chips, and ¾ cups of nutella. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth out. Place in the refrigerator to chill.

Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. While cream is heating, pour ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips into a bowl.  Once cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes, or until the chocolate is completely melted.  Add butter in small pieces and whisk until smooth.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator.  Pour the ganache over the crust and smooth with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon.  Sprinkle with ground toasted hazelnuts. Return pan to refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

Once firm, remove from refrigerator and peel off parchment paper. Slice into bars and serve immediately.  Or eat them all your self - you will get sick for sure but it will be so worth it!