Friday, October 26, 2018

Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Truffles

   


      I did not fall off the face of the earth. I have spent a long time thinking about my blog, and whether or not I wanted to continue blogging. I finally decided that I think I will most likely let my custom domain go (meaning it will go back to being clarescontemplations.blogspot.com) and quit trying to "make" something of this little corner of the internet and just continue as a hobby. If someone ever comes along and wants to lift me out of obscurity, terrific. If not, I'm pretty sure my mom still reads this so that's someone!

   Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I tinkered with this recipe that I put together last year. I made a few changes and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm not in any way implying this is an original idea, I love the classic Oreo truffle and this is just a riff on that. However, I did not base this particular recipe on anything else besides the inspiration that struck standing in the aisle of Trader Joe's staring at the Pumpkin Spice Joe-Joe's!

   I am *basic* when it comes to pumpkin spice-I really do look forward to the first pumpkin spice latte of the year. The smell of those seasonings really conjures up images of fall. I wanted a little bit of that-in truffle form. I made these last year and dipped them in white chocolate, because I felt like it went better with the flavors and was more aesthetically pleasing (I'm just being honest!) but it was widely panned by my family and friends. I ran out of white chocolate and dipped the remainder in dark chocolate. Now those were a hit!

   So, I decided to go with the crowd-pleasing dark chocolate and make a few slight adjustments and I think these are worth trying! They're simple, but elegant and tasty! They are pretty quick to make, and they keep well in the refrigerator. (They last for at least a week if kept in the fridge, I don't know if they last longer than that, as they are always gone by then!)

   You only need four ingredients for these. So. Easy.

Ingredients:
1 box of Trader Joe's Pumpkin Joe-Joe's
4 oz. softened cream cheese
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
10 oz. chopped dark chocolate (I used Ghiradelli melting wafers)

Optional: sprinkles for the top.



   First, you need to crush all the cookies into a fine crumb. I use my Ninja food processor, you don't want any big pieces or they won't have that creamy truffle consistency.  Next, you will want to add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly. I switch to the mixing blade on my food processor, it blends the filling nicely. You can also use a mixer, but be warned, the dough is very thick!

   Once everything is all blended, you will need to refrigerate the filling for an hour. This will make it easier to handle when you are shaping the truffles.

    After the filling is chilled, roll the mixture into 1 inch balls. I used a scantily filled small cookie scoop. Place the rolled balls onto parchment or waxed paper to keep them from sticking.

  Melt the chocolate in a small bowl. Working quickly, dip the truffles into the chocolate. Place immediately onto waxed paper. If you are using sprinkles, add immediately after dipping so they will "stick". The chocolate should set fairly quickly but don't move the truffles until it has firmed up. I usually place the chocolates in the fridge to harden for at least a half-hour or so before I try to put them in mini cupcake liners or stack them. Keep refrigerated!



   This recipe will make 24-28 truffles, depending on the size. These are perfect for holiday parties or for gifting. They would make a great addition to a Thanksgiving dessert spread, too!

   Don't be fooled: they look like peanut butter but it is just the color of the cookie. See how uniform the filling looks? No one will be able to tell you took a cookie shortcut!

   Hopefully, you agree with me, that there is still plenty of "fall" left to make pumpkin spiced things in, as Halloween is only next week and we have a month until Thanksgiving. I love Christmas but I try not to rush it! How about you, are you still in fall mode? Or are you team Christmas?

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