Vanilla Gelato Bites with Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Potluck Party

Rated: 3 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (29)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(29)

Prep Time:
1 hr 0 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
16 gelato bites

Times:

Prep: 1 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep: 3 hr 0 min
Cook: --
Total:: 4 hr 0 min

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Ingredients

1 pint vanilla gelato or ice cream
1 (12-ounce) bag chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
1 cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts (about 5 ounces)

Directions

Special equipment: bite-sized ice cream scoop and wooden popsticks

Place a small tray or a plate in the freezer. Remove the gelato from the freezer to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove the chilled tray from the freezer. Scoop out 16 bite-sized balls of gelato and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and quickly insert a wooden popstick into each gelato ball. Return them to the freezer for at least 1 hour.

When the gelato balls have frozen with their sticks in place, place the chocolate in a double-boiler over very gently simmering water until melted. Next to the pot of chocolate, place the toasted, chopped hazelnuts in a shallow bowl.

Remove the gelato balls from the freezer, 4 at a time. Working quickly, hold the gelato ball by the stick and dip into the melted chocolate, then dredge it in the hazelnuts. Return them to the freezer and continue with 4 more gelato balls, until all the gelato balls are covered in chocolate and nuts. Freeze the chocolate-and-nut-covered gelato for at least 1 hour.

These are very fun, festive, and tasty. The ice cream scoop I used is a number 40 (holds 1 tablespoon, is 1 1/2 inches in diameter.)

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Vanilla Gelato Bites with Chocolate and Hazelnuts
Stephanie Berthoud, CO 07-23-2009
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Gelato Meltdown
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I did not have a problem with getting the chocolate to coat the gelato balls, but after the first two, the small amounts of... melted gelato that got into the melted chocolate made the chocolate clump up and become very non-user-friendly. I ended up rolling the clumpy chocolate into balls, rolling them in the nuts and freezing them. Too bad, because the two gelato balls that did get made were delicious!Read more
recipe Vanilla Gelato Bites with Chocolate and Hazelnuts
Tina Rincon, GA 07-20-2009
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Total Disaster
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I wasted two pints of gelato and two bags of chocolate on this recipe and am so utterly disgusted. The chocolate wouldn't... stick to the gelato and the tiny bit of gelato that melted into the chocolate as I spun it through cause the chocolate to seize up and ruined it completely. The chocolate can't be used for anything at all now. DO NOT use this recipe!!!!!!!Read more
recipe Vanilla Gelato Bites with Chocolate and Hazelnuts
Andre Denver, CO 07-05-2009
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Yikes!
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

The concept is great, the taste is common but the preparation is awful. The chocolate doesn't stick, even when it's cooled... down. Perfect little ice cream balls would be a dream. My little scoops of ice cream look like the rough terrain of the Rockies. Do not use this recipe for a potluck. Get some nice pear jam and layer that over some vanilla gelato ice cream and your friends and family will love you. Cheers all!Read more
recipe Vanilla Gelato Bites with Chocolate and Hazelnuts
Nancy Tustin, CA 07-03-2009
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Just have fun with it...
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

My mom and I made these for a 4th of July party we are having tomorrow, and they came out wonderful! We used three different... flavors of gelato, and froze them for about 4 hours. The dulce-de-leche and chocolate flavors worked the best because they froze the harder, and the chocolate stuck to them really well. We did take the chocolate off the heat for a few minutes as suggested. Chocolate did not stick well to vanilla, so we rolled them in ground peanuts and chopped chocolate. Yummy!Read more
recipe Vanilla Gelato Bites with Chocolate and Hazelnuts
null null, null 04-05-2009
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not successful....
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I had the same problem... I followed all the instructions like leaving the ice cream in the freezer a while before putting... the cooled chocolate on it, but it would melt the ice cream and not adhere. I am not sure what I was doing wrong... It was a huge disappointment because me and my friends were really excited to make it and have it for dessert but it failed miserably. Maybe I will try it again because it looks really yummy...Read more
recipe Vanilla Gelato Bites with Chocolate and Hazelnuts
Delia Dana Point, CA 03-08-2009
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Disaster
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

This recipe did look easy and fun. I was going to make it for a small gathering at a friends house and I was to bring... dessert. I had the same problem as others with the chocolate in that it wouldn't stick to the gelato. I spent a lot of money on the gelato, so it was super dissapointing when it didn't come out. I then ended spending more money on another dessert to take to the party. However, I am definately going to try this recipe again and take others advice on letting the chocolate cool a bit. I might use a different melting chocolate as well. Maybe that will help. I'm not giving up yet. Read more