Chocolate Truffles (2 Ways)

Truffles are one of my favorite treats to make not only because they taste so decadent, but also because people seem to be really impressed  that I made them.  What they don't realize is that truffles are really so simple to make.  You do not have to be an experienced baker by any means to make these.  The best part is that really authentic truffles are not perfectly round, so you never have to worry about rolling them into perfectly round balls.

I wanted to experiment with different spices for these two truffle recipes.  The first one is more of a sweeter recipe and the second is more savory.  Neither recipe produced an overwhelming taste of the various spices, but each recipe tasted unique and delicious nonetheless.  I hope you enjoy.

Chocolate Cardamom Truffles
adapted from Buttercream & Roses
makes 24 pieces

Ingredients

12 oz. semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped

Directions 

Combine the cardamom and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low until it reaches a simmer. 

Place the chocolate in a bowl and pour the cream and cardamom mixture over the chocolate.  Let sit for 3 minutes.

Whisk the chocolate and cream until completely smooth.  Place in the refrigerator for about 3 hours to firm up.  

Place chopped pistachios in a small bowl.  With a small ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out chocolate and gently roll into a ball.  Place in the pistachios and roll around until completely coated and place on plate.

Let set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. 

Chocolate Spiced Truffles
adapted from Sandra Lee
makes 24 pieces

Ingredients

2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
12 oz. dark chocolate
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Directions

In a medium saucepot, combine the cream, cinnamon, chili powder and cayenne pepper and heat over medium-low heat until it comes to a simmer.  Add the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until it firms up, about 2 hours.

Shortly before removing the chocolate from the refrigerator, place the chopped hazelnuts and cocoa powder in two separate bowls. 

Using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out the chocolate and gently roll into a small ball.  Then roll each ball in one of the toppings until completely coated.  Place on a plate and let sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving. 

Biscoff Muffins

If you need a new recipe to make for brunch you can stop your search right this second.  Go out and find Biscoff spread (I found it at World Market and Giant) and make these muffins. 

I brought these to a friend's house for Christmas day brunch and they topped off our omelets and pancakes perfectly.  They barely took any time to make and came out so light and airy.  Do you remember that 3 Musketeers candy bar commercial where the 3 Musketeers was literally floating up into the air...well that's what I thought of when I took my first bite.  These were delicious and I hope you enjoy them just as much as I did!  You may also like my other Biscoff recipe, which can be found here. 

Biscoff Muffins
adapted from bakerstreet
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1½ cups + 2 tsp flour
2 tsp baking powerd
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ milk (I used skim)
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup Biscoff spread (microwave it for 15 to 20 seconds so it is of spreadable consistency)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg until combined.  Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix until combined.

Add in the vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.

Spoon in about 2/3 of the Biscoff spread into the batter and mix well. 

Fill each muffin cup about ⅔ full with batter and then add about a teaspoon of the Biscoff spread to each and swirl it around a few times with a toothpick or a knife.

Bake for 15-17 minutes.  Cool muffins on a wire rack before serving.

Holiday Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

I was on the diving team in college and after every competition the team chowed down on a giant bucket of chocolate dipped pretzels with our school colors.  One of the mothers of a girl on the swim team made those pretzels every season and never missed a competition.

Chocolate dipped pretzels can look really beautiful and people will think you worked very hard in the kitchen.  But what they won't know is that, while it does take some time, the process is actually very simple.

You can also get creative with your toppings.  I used crushed candy cane for Christmas and blue sprinkles for Hanukkah, but you can also use a variety of colored sprinkles for other holidays or crushed up Oreos, graham cracker crumbs, and the list could go on.  I hope you'll share if you try something new.

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Ingredients

1 large bag or pretzels twists
1 large bag of pretzel rods
10-12 ounces white chocolate morsels
10-15 mini candy canes
Blue sprinkles

Directions

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the chocolate in a microwaveable dish and heat in 30 second intervals until completely melted and smooth.

Place candy canes in a ziploc bag and crush or if you have a food processor you can also place the candy canes in there and pulse until the pieces are the size you want. (I found the processor worked better)  Place the crushed candy cane in a wide-bottomed bowl and do the same for the blue sprinkles.

Take one pretzel twist and place face down in the white chocolate.  Lift and tap to remove excess chocolate.  Place the pretzel face down in either the candy cane bowl or the blue sprinkles.  Press lightly to make sure all chocolate is covered.  Remove and place face up on the baking sheet.  

For the pretzel rods, dip about halfway into the chocolate.  Tap to remove any excess then roll into either bowl of candy cane or sprinkles (I found you may have to tip the bowl to the side to get the chocolate completely covered.  Another option would be instead of dipping in a bowl you could pour the sprinkles or candy canes over the rod and keep turning the rod until it is completely coated).  Place on baking sheet and let the chocolate pretzels harden before removing to a serving dish or eating!

Chocolate Mint Pudding Cookies (for Hanukkah)

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.  And what better way to celebrate than with good friends and delicious desserts.

Pudding cookies tend to be soft and chewy, so I thought I'd experiment with a new version for Hanukkah.  I used chocolate pudding and cocoa powder to make them a richer chocolate cookie and added mint chips instead of chocolate chips.  My taste-testers enjoyed the experiment and this recipe is definitely a keeper.

Chocolate Mint Pudding Cookies (for Hanukkah)
adapted from The Capitol Baker

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1.4 oz package instant pudding mix (I used chocolate)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups York Peppermint Patty pieces

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat together the butter and both sugars until creamy.  Beat in the pudding mix, cocoa powder, eggs, and vanilla.  Add in batches of the flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until combined.  Stir in the York Peppermint Patty pieces until distributed evenly.  Drop heaping teaspoons of the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 13-14 minutes.

My batch made about 40 cookies.

M&M and Coconut Cake Cookies

I was in New York for work when Hurricane Sandy hit.  I was fortunate in that the worst I experienced was a house without power and a long gas line, but many others had far worse.   My heart goes out to those who lost their homes or lives or other irreplaceable memories.

After making it back to D.C. I figured I could use a simple recipe to get myself back into the swing of things.  You'd be surprised how great a boxed mix recipe can be just by adding in a few extra ingredients.  If you don't like coconut, you should experiment with other ingredients, maybe some nuts, toffee pieces, or even dried cranberries.

M&M and Coconut Cake Cookies

adapted from Curry and Comfort

Ingredients

1 box of yellow cake mix
3/4 cup M&M's

3/4 cup of coconut

2 eggs
1/2 cup of canola oil

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the cake mix with the eggs and canola oil.  Add in the M&M's and coconut and stir until combined.

Make a ball slightly smaller than the size of a golf ball and place on the baking sheet.  Repeat with the rest of the batter.  You should be able to make about 15-20 cookies.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.  Keep the cookies on the baking sheet until completely cool and enjoy!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I have been wanting to make a version of this recipe for some time now.  Pumpkin season has come and gone and this year I am happy to report I have not missed my chance!  I found a great recipe and decided to lighten it up a bit.

I don't think my lightened up version is missing any taste, but it's probably a bit chewier than the regular version.  Regardless, these muffins were moist and sweet and a great alternative if you're trying to stay healthy.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
adapted from A Cup of Sugar...A Pinch of Salt
5 PointsPlus per serving
Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

For the Filling
1/3 cup reduced fat cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup powdered sugar

For the Topping
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend*
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

For the Muffins
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fat free egg substitute**
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend*
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce***
1 cup canned pumpkin puree

*Brown Sugar can be substituted (1/4 cup brown sugar for 2 Tbsp of Splenda and 1/2 cup brown sugar for 1/4 cup Splenda)
**2 eggs can be substituted
***1/2 cup vegetable oil can be substituted

Directions

To make the filling: In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, egg yolk, and powdered sugar.  Cover and freeze until chilled, about 30-45 minutes.

To make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar blend, cinnamon, and salt.  Work in the butter with your hands.  Press the mixture into small clumps.  Refrigerate the topping until chilled, about 15 minutes.

To make the muffins:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the brown sugar blend, apple sauce, and pumpkin puree.  Beat in the dry ingredients until completely incorporated.

Spoon half the batter into the muffin cups.  Drop heaping teaspoons of the cream cheese filling in the center of each cup and spoon the remaining batter on top.  Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter.  Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before placing them on a rack to cool completely.  (1 muffin = 1 serving, 5 PointsPlus per serving)

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Try saying Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies three times fast.  Now you deserve to eat a cookie!  This recipe happens to be one of my all-time favorites.  The bananas turn this into a soft and moist cookie and the touch of cinnamon really adds a unique twist on the typical oatmeal cookie.  Soft, sweet, and just what you need at the end of a long day.  Delicious.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from the essential chocolate chip cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 bananas, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute.  The mixture may look slightly curdled.  On low speed, add in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.  Mix in the oatmeal.  Then mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.  Use a large spoon to mix in the banana pieces, mixing just until they are evenly distributed and some of the pieces are mashed but most are still visible.

Using a tablespoon, drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 3 inches apart.  Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned and the tops look dry, about 18 minutes.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.