The ubiquitous Ferrero Rocher chocolates are a familiar sight at celebrations of all kinds, especially at Christmas. It's all about the hazelnut and wafer combo that Pietro Ferrero nailed in Alba back in 1942 that has stood the test of time. I've never had enough hazelnuts on hand to try making my own but since I bought that kilo from Mt Hyde Hazelnuts in Dunedin, I gave it a go from scratch. This is adapted from Bigger Bolder Baking.

Makes 35-40
Filling:
2 c toasted hazelnuts
1/2 c maple syrup (or honey or brown rice syrup)
1/2 c cocoa
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

Coating:
170 g dark chocolate

1 c toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
3/4 c plain ice cream wafers, crumbed (or vanilla wafer biscuits)

Set aside 35-40 whole hazelnuts. Blitz the rest in a high-speed blender or food processor for 2-5 minutes until a fine paste forms. My Omniblend didn't quite make a hazelnut butter but it was soft enough. You can always cheat here and use shop-bought hazelnut butter, Nutella or similar.
In a food processor blend the hazelnut paste, natural liquid sweetener, cocoa, vanilla and salt until a sticky dough forms.
Roll teaspoonfuls into balls with a whole hazelnut in the centre. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour to firm up.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl. In another bowl mix together the chopped hazelnuts and wafers. If you don't have wafers just use hazelnuts.
Using 2 forks, dip each truffle in the chocolate to coat. Tip into your nut bowl and with different 2 forks, roll in the nuts. Place onto a tray lined with baking paper. Chill in the fridge until set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days or store in the freezer.
If you want to make fancy gifts you can wrap each one in gold foil, just like Ferrero Rochers.