Candy Cane Truffles

Here is the third and final new recipe I tried for our New Year's Eve dinner. I saw this in an advertisment section in Martha Stewart's magazine (once I started reading that mag, I came to peace with the fact that I will never be young, wild and crazy again). It looked too good not to try, and tasted every last bit of delicious that I expected. As pretty as they make the truffles, I think I'd leave off the candy canes next time though. The other flavors are enough to please any chocolate-loving palate on their own!

I found the orignal recipe, here.

Ingredients

8 oz. chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream

2 tsp peppermint extract

1/2 Cup cocoa powder
1/2 Cup crushed candy canes or peppermints

The recipe begins by telling you to microwave the cream and extract and then whisk in the chocolate chips. I found this wasn't really working (they weren't melting enough), so I placed the bowl on a pot of boiling water and stirred with a fork until smooth. You can experiment with this part and find what works best for you. I suggest using the method I did, but make sure the cream and extract mixture is heated first to save some time.

Trying the microwave method...

Which wasn't really working.

On the flame...



Much better!



Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or until firm).

Once the mixture has firmed, line a baking sheet with wax of parchment paper and drop even teaspoons of the chocolate mixture onto it. I'd read ahead and saw you would later roll the truffles and assumed I didn't have to be neat for this step. Do yourself a favor, and try to be neater than I was! (My truffles were super lumpy.) I also made mine kind of gigantic. The recipe shows it will make 36 and I got about 15. Oops!

Now pop them in the freezer for about 45 minutes, or until firm. When I opened my freezer, a spear of asparagus rolled out (?) and my dog spent quite a bit of time examining it. He chewed on it for awhile and I later found it sitting in the dining room, all sticky.

Place the cocoa powder in a small dish. Remove from freezer and roll them into balls with your hands so they are more symmetrical. I didn't take any pictures of this step because I was completely covered in chocolate, and in the middle of making a lasagna. Next, roll each truffle in the cocoa powder until lightly covered. Chill again, until firm. I left mine in over night, since it was midnight and I needed some sleep!

 Take your mints or candy canes, and smash them into little pieces. (Always satisfying!)

Put the candy pieces into a small bowl. Remove the truffles and roll them into the candy. The original recipe says to repeat this process, but I think once was plenty.

I really, REALLY love my new camera!

 All done! Refrigerate until ready to serve, allowing about 15 minutes for the candy to warm up a bit.

Enjoy!