Prep Time : 10 Minutes | Finishing Time : 1 hour | Total Time : 3 hours | Difficulty : Easy
I love Christmas but it can be a bit overwhelming. Sometimes you need a little something to get you through. These rich truffles, spiked with brandy and warm with Christmas spice are just what you need. Sneak one whenever you feel like your Christmas spirit needs a boost. And they’re made with oats, so you know, they’re healthful…
Throw everything except the chocolate and extra cocoa into a food processor and blitz on high until smooth. The truffle-goo will be quite soft. Scoop into a zip-lock bag and pop it into the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up.
*** Pleasant interlude in which you make a cup of tea and relax ***
Open the bag and tear it down the side to unwrap the slab of chocolatey goodness easily. Scoop off chunks of about 2 teaspoonsful and roll into balls. Place onto a cookie sheet lined with baking paper – I know in the picture the tray is lined with tin-foil but that’s because I ran out of baking paper that day… ahem. When all the truffles are shaped pop them back into the fridge for about 20 minutes to chill.
In the meantime, melt chocolate to dip them in. Use my cheat’s tempering method to make sure the chocolate will set firm. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Take it off the heat for ten minutes then put it back onto a low heat for five minutes.
Dip each truffle in chocolate and pop them back onto the cookie sheet to set. When the chocolate is almost set but still a little tacky dust the truffles in a little more cocoa or seasonal sprinkles. I kept the tidiest of mine in plain chocolate and the dusting of cocoa disguised my more haphazard efforts! Use a small knife to trim the chocolate ‘foot’ from the bottom where they have been resting on the tray to set.
These truffles are also great as gifts, if there are any left of course…
Santa's Little Helpers
Prep Time : 10 mins | Finishing Time : 1 hour | Total Time : 3 hours | Difficulty : Easy | Makes : 2 dozen truffles
Decadent chocolatey mouthfuls laced with Christmas flavours.
Ingredients:
- 130 gm | 4.6 oz | 1 cup oat flour or very fine oatmeal
- 75 gm | 2.7 oz | 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 tbsp dutched cocoa powder
- 50 gm | 1.8 oz softened coconut oil (or butter)
- 3 tbsp brandy
- 5 tbsp coconut cream (or cream)
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 200 gm | 7.2 oz dark chocolate
- extra dutched cocoa for dusting
Directions:
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and process on high until smooth. Scoop out into a zip-lock bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours – the longer the better.
Tear the bag open down the side and unwrap the slab of truffle. Using a teaspoon scoop off chunks that are about 2 teaspoonsful and roll into balls. Place on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper. Once all the truffles have been shaped put the tray back into the fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm up again.
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes then return to the heat for a further 5 minutes. Dip each truffle in chocolate and return to the cookie sheet to set. When the chocolate is almost set roll each truffle in a little extra dutched cocoa and leave to set completely.
Adapted from Scandalicious Baking.
© 2014 The Winsome Baker. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
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