Let the dipping commence. 
And with the dipping – the sound of Christmas music…
And laughter.
Peanut Butter Balls, Oreo Truffles, Cookie Dough Truffles, Mint Truffles.
Each recipe a piece of our family traditions.
Each bite a taste of Christmas.
None perfect. But like the rest of our celebration – homemade and beloved.
December is a chocolate lover’s dream come true! The kids and I start making candy and treats just as soon as the Thanksgiving left-overs are put away.
Every year I try at least one new recipe -and believe me, the search for that recipe is a lot of fun!
This year’s recipe is a truffle with a yummy cookie dough inside covered with a rich chocolate coating. Honestly now – who doesn’t love cookie dough?!
Although they didn’t turn out as pretty and nice as I would have liked – they taste heavenly! I’ll just have to keep making them until I get them just right. 🙂
Cookie Dough Truffles
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips (I used semi sweet)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 pounds semi sweet chocolate candy coating, chopped
Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, milk and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Shape into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. (This was a very hard step! The dough is very soft and hard to form. I ended up using the smallest cookie scoop I had, but they still seemed too big. Maybe I should have refrigerated the dough before making into balls and again after?)
Melt the candy coating in the microwave and dip the balls in the coating. Place on waxed paper lined sheets and refrigerate until firm.
Store in the refrigerator – although I kept mine in the freezer (they’re harder for the children to find!)
Absolutely delicious!
Enjoy!
I will confess that the it was the name of these cupcakes that caught my attention. (We all know I have a truffle addiction!)
But it was the simple instructions that sold me on these little gems!
After a very busy day, we were able to whip these up in a few minutes.
The ganache frosting was fast and easy and made for delicious licking! (and yes I shared – a little bit!)
Truffle Lover’s Cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 package chocolate cake mix with pudding
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/3 cup toasted almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
In large bowl beat together cake mix, water, oil, and eggs. Stir in the almond and vanilla extracts.
Fold in the chocolate chips and almonds.
Pour into 24 regular sized muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely.
Ganache
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chocolate chips
In a heavy saucepan heat whipping cream over medium high heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips until melted and smooth.
Let this sit for about 5 minutes. Then dip the tops of the cupcakes into the ganache and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips or slivered almonds for garnish.
Store loosely covered in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
Truffles.
The very name makes me salivate!
To me truffles are the epitome of chocolate gratification.
My sister surprised us at a recent after Christmas family get- together with more truffles than I’ve seen in a lifetime!
They had a wonderful time at the clearance table at Sam’s Club picking out a large selection of various truffles at a greatly reduced price!
These amazing delicacies were the stars of the weekend.
I am almost ashamed to admit that we ate them morning, noon and night. We had a truffle with breakfast, again at 10:00, and then one just before lunch. Of course we needed some for dessert and on through the afternoon ending our day with a truffle just before bed.
We began the weekend carefully checking the packages to make intelligent choices, but soon we were snarfing them down regardless. (But by then all the caramel ones were eaten anyway!)
At the end of the weekend we were all “truffle-a-tized”.
We divided the large amount of remaining truffles between us and headed home to face the reality of the bathroom scale.
I will confess that there are still truffles in my pantry luring me with their smooth decadent goodness. But there will not be a repeat of that wonderful weekend, at least not for awhile!;)
But it will remain in our memories as a chocolate highlight of the year!
Blue Jeans and Cotton Tees 