Christmas Candy Truffles

CHRISTMAS CANDY! In case you haven't noticed, we're basically little kids who have jobs. We get excited about things like Disneyland, Birthday Parties and playing video games. So maybe its mostly Eric that gets excited about video games, but lets not split hairs here because the biggest thing that we get really kid like excited about is Christmas, which in our house starts exactly the moment Santa comes down the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It would actually start a lot earlier except Eric puts his big grinchy foot down and strictly prohibits Christmas movies and Christmas Carols from New Years to Thanksgiving which makes Charisse all the more eager to sneak them in when he's not around. Its pretty funny to see how mad Eric can get when he hops in Charisse's car and discovers jingle bells in the CD player. But once that magical season starts we're up in the mountains chopping down a tree and covering the house in lights and tinsel. It is a time for Jen and Charisse to get together and bake and their husbands to go off and do manly things (play video games). This first round of baking lasted 10 1/2 hours and resulted 9 different types of Christmas Candy. Today we're showcasing some of the truffles. There are Chocolate truffles and white chocolate ones. Truffles with peppermint and toffee too! Since these are basically all the same truffle, it makes sense to do them together!

Truffles:

What you will need: 

 8 Ounces Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

¾ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Chop your chocolate into pieces or buy chocolate chips and place them in a medium sized steel bowl. Over medium heat, bring cream and butter to a boil in a small saucepan. As soon as it boils, pour the cream mixture into the chocolate and let it stand for 5 minutes. Whisk it smooth and add any embellishments at this time. Cover and place in your refrigerator until it is firm, which will take several hours or could be left overnight.

Pour whatever coatings you have planned onto a plate. Pull out the truffle mixture and either with your hands or a melon baller or other small spoon portion out the mixture into round bite-sized balls. Roll your new truffle in the coating and place on a baking sheet or other tray covered in wax paper. Cover and place in either the fridge or freezer until the ruffles are solid. These will last in the fridge for several weeks and several months in the freezer but the truffles will tend to get gooey and soft if left out for long periods of time.

The white chocolate truffles are just done with white chocolate instead of regular chocolate.
Peppermint Truffles use peppermint chocolate for the filling
Toffee...add 1/2 cup of toffee pieces into the mix