Every Christmas it seems I crave good truffles. For a long time, I wanted to make a vanilla truffle, but a few attempts later, I think I've given up because I can't for the life of me find a decent recipe. The thing is, every year we make Buck Eyes, and they always look so amazing and professionally done sitting there on the platter. The only problem is I'm not a peanut butter fan, so even though they look amazing, they don't taste amazing to me. So that brings me to the non-peanut butter truffle hunt. Because I want something pretty and professional looking for myself too.
Now, I found this recipe over at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and put my own little spin on it. It originally called for the truffles to be dipped in almond bark, but as I was not running to the store and only making these because I had a little bit of time to kill and all the other ingredients in my panty, I decided to forgo the almond bark. Instead I just used regular dipping chocolate and added a bit of almond extract into the truffle. Then, that got me thinking. I'd just reached past the orange extract, something I don't normally use often and I love orange truffles so it was an easy 2+2=yummy truffles. Anyway, I just had a dribble left in the bottle, so I used 1 tsp. of the orange extract. Next time if I had a bit more I might increase to 1 1/4 tsp just for good measures. I was going to try that this go, but replace the extra little bit with a bit of orange liqueur, but what do you know, we're all out of that too. Surprise, surprise. Maybe next time a hint of peppermint would bring on the holiday spirit also.
One important thing to remember if you decide to make multiple batches / flavours of these truffles is that once they are dipped you need to put some sort of marking on the outside of them so you know which flavour is which. Get creative, but try to keep things consistent from batch to batch, year to year ie. we always use a white chocolate drizzle on our Buck Eyes.
Some suggestions for the garnish:
~Orange zest (I used this for the orange flavour)
~Chocolate sprinkles
~White chocolate drizzle (I use this for buck eyes)
~A white chocolate dot
~A sprinkle of coconut
~A sprinkle of ground almond powder (I use this for the almond flavour)
One of the greatest things about this recipe is that they were so incredibly easy. No oven, no double-boiler, not stove-top cooking, and all the ingredients will be in your pantry if you ever do even the most basic of baking. Feel free to dabble around in the flavour combinations, or if you just like plain, just use 2 tsp of vanilla as the flavouring.
Makes 2 1/2 Dozen
Almond Truffles
Orange Truffles
Ingredients
Almond Truffles
1/2 C. Cocoa Powder
1 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Flour
2 Tsp. Vanilla
1/4 Tsp. Almond Extract
1/2 C. Butter, melted
Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate
Garnish
Orange Truffles
1/2 C. Cocoa Powder
1 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Flour
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 1/4 Tsp. Orange Extract
1/2 C. Butter, melted
Milk Chocolate Dipping Chocolate
Garnish
Directions
~In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
~In a microwave safe dish, melt butter. Mix in extracts.
~Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix to combine.
~Roll batter into bite size balls and place on a wax paper lined tray.
~Melt chocolate and dip truffles into chocolate and garnish right away (unless garnishing with the melted white chocolate. You'll have to wait for the milk chocolate layer to set first.)
~Place back on the wax paper lined tray and refrigerate to set.
Enjoy
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