Nus Angel




holly Nus Angel




I think I picked this recipe up from a newspaper or magazine.   I first made it some twenty odd years ago; and it was immediately popular.   There really is no inherent reason why it should be seen as a seasonal recipe, except, I suppose, that I tend to use Christmas as an excuse to do a lot of baking.   At any rate, nus angel has become a specifically Christmas delicacy in my family—and one that is made pretty well every year.


holly holly berry holly


Ingredients


½ lb ground walnuts
½ lb icing sugar
1 egg white
7 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
       (either squares of baking chocolate or chocolate chips)


NOTE:   Ground walnuts are not generally available in stores, since they do not keep well.   I generally purchase walnut nibbits, and grind them in a food processor.



holly holly berry holly



Directions


Grinding the Walnuts
Grind the walnuts in a food processor or blender, and then put them through a sifter.   I know this is tedious; but, although I usually say that sifting isn't necessary, for this recipe it is very important that the walnuts be very finely ground, almost like flour.

Mixing the Centres
Put the ground walnuts and icing sugar in a mixing bowl.   Add the egg white, and blend together with a spurtle or wooden spoon.   Then let the dough stand for an hour:   this will give the egg white a chance to be absorbed into the dry ingredients, making the dough easier to handle.

Shaping the Centres

  Place a large sheet of waxed paper on a flat surface—putting it on a baking sheet is convenient, since you will probably want your kitchen counter clear for use for other things later on, and you can simply pick up the baking sheet with everything on it and move the whole lot somewhere else.

  Dust your hand with icing sugar to help with the rolling, since the dough will still be somewhat sticky.   You may need to re-dust your hand partway through as the sugar gets damp.

  Scoop out a small quantity of the dough with a teaspoon, and roll it in the palm of your hand to form a small ball.

  As each ball is rolled, place it on the sheet of waxed paper.

  Leave the centres overnight.   They will dry a little, forming a slight crust on the surface.

Dipping the Centres

  In the top of a double boiler, melt the squares of semi-sweet chocolate.   Be sure not to let the melted chocolate scorch, nor let any steam get into it.

  Put the centres in a bowl.   This frees up the sheet of waxed paper, so you can reuse it.

  Slide a plastic chocolate dipper or a fork under one of the centres, lift it, and dip it into the chocolate.

(NOTE:   If you are using a fork, slide it under the centre.   Do not try to spear the centre—it'll just break into two pieces.)

  Roll the centre over in the melted chocolate to coat it on both sides.   Then lift it gently out, and put it on the waxed paper.   Repeat with each of the other centres, placing them on the paper far enough apart so the liquid chocolate coating them will not touch.

  Set the baking sheet with the chocolates aside until the coating is firm.   This can be sped up by putting them in a cool place.

Storage
When the coating is hard, remove the chocolates and store them in a tin in a cool place, such as a pantry or one of the lower racks of the refrigerator.

Makes several dozen chocolates.


holly holly berry holly



Return to Top
Return to Christmas Recipe Homepage
Recipes   |   Home

The leather background graphics come from GRSites.com.
The other backgrounds come from 321Clipart.com, and had their colour altered at GRSites.com.
The bullets came from www.free-graphics.com, and had their colour altered at GRSites.com.
The holly comes from Hellas Multimedia, and had a mirror image made at GRSites.com.

All original material on this webpage copyright © Greer Watson 2006.