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After four parties, three Christmas programs, lots of shopping, a trip to Disneyland, losing my voice, and dealing with one teething and flu-sickened baby (still sick), I'm back. Apologies to my readers who have visited and have found me MIA. I hope you had a beautiful Christmas as we did.
This Christmas, I decided to make boxes of truffles for all of the kids' teachers and our local children's librarian after seeing the recipe in a Kraft Foods magazine, of all places. So easy but makes one big mess when you have kids.
Ingredients for the Truffles:
20 squares (20 ounces) of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
8 oz. Cream Cheese
Ingredients for Decorating:
Sprinkles
Crushed Nuts
Coconut Shavings
Powdered Sugar
Cocoa Powder
General Foods International Creme Caramel Coffee Drink Mix
2 ounces Baker's white chocolate, melted
Baker's semi-sweet chocolate comes in packages of 1 ounce squares with 8 squares to each box, so buy two and half packages. I've tried this with Nestle Toll House chocolate also, but the Baker's gave a darker, smoother color that I liked.
Microwave cream cheese on high fo 15 seconds. Melt 8 chocolate squares according to the package and mix in the cream cheese until well blended. You can use a mixer but I did it by hand and it came out fine. Chill for about 15 minutes until the mixture firms up and then shape into 3/4 inch balls. Place each ball onto a silt pad or wax paper. I got 32 balls out of this.
Melt the rest of the chocolate squares according to the package. Take each ball and dip each into the molten chocolate. The recipe called for a fork for the dipping process, but I found a toothpick was easier. Don't worry about the hole left on top, as you can cover this up with large sprinkles, nuts, or other decorations.
Make sure you put the sprinkles or nuts on before the chocolate has already re-solidified or they won't stick. I also decorated some with coconut shavings. I also drizzled on melted white chocolate with a toothpick on some of the truffles. Make sure that the dark chocolate has already solidified before drizzling it on though.
A variation I tried was to take some of the balls and roll them into the Creme Caramel Coffee Drink Mix instead of dipping them in the molten chocolate. Came out nice. The recipe also suggested rolling them in powdered sugar, nuts, or cocoa, but I didn't try that.
Box the truffles up and they make beautiful Christmas gifts. I suggest making the truffles a day or two before giving them out, keeping them in the fridge, and make a note to tell your gift recipient to put the package in the fridge once they receive it from you to prevent spoilage.
