I have a handful of what I call ‘heart friends.’ You know, the kind where you feel that your hearts are literally knit together and could not imagine life without. Well, that is what I call my friend Ann. We have known each other for years, and being her hairstylist for years has kept us getting together regularly every 5 weeks. Thank goodness her hair takes at least 2 hours, because we always have so much to share and it takes at least this long to get caught up!
A form of ‘therapy’ that Ann brought this last visit was a beautiful Christmas gift of Homemade Blackberry Brandied Truffles. Oh. My. Yum.
I cannot tell you how delicious these are. The nuts are crunchy, the chocolate deep & creamy, a hint of blackberry. They are amazing.
She handed them to me sheepishly knowing I usually eat pretty healthy. I reassured her that when it comes to dessert I do it right! I may not do it often, but you bet I’m gonna eat her homemade goodies and enjoy every, last bite. Cancer survivors learn how to live fully, and I think eating a real dessert once in awhile fits perfectly into living fully!
The minute I bit into one of these truffles, my eyes got big, and I knew I had to share this little treasure of a recipe with you all! Enjoy…every last bite!
Blackberry Brandied Truffles
1/2 pound chopped bittersweet or semisweet or milk chocolate (don’t use unsweetened!) (I like the dark chocolate the best 🙂
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted real butter
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons of blackberry brandy
COATING CHOICES: coconut or almonds (either sliced or crushed) but definitely toasted! Toast in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring every 30 seconds. The presentation is beautiful when you use different coatings!
SURPRISE IN THE CENTER CHOICES: nothing (great as is!) or tuck a well-drained maraschino cherry inside or a whole almond.
Directions:
Melt chocolate & butter together in the microwave until hot, being careful not to scorch the chocolate.
Wisk in the egg yolks until mixture is shiny.
Stir in the brandy.
Put in the refrigerator until cool enough to form into soft balls.
Use a teaspoon size cookie scoop, leveled off, for each truffle. If desired, tuck in a cherry or almond & roll into a ball. Coat the ball as desired. Put each truffle in a miniature muffin liner or paper nut cup (can be purchased at Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section).
Store in refrigerator.
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Tips:
To make orange flavored truffles, you can use Gran Marnier in place of the blackberry brandy. It is more pricey, but I just read online that you can go into your local liquor store and ask for an “airline bottle” of Gran Marnier. The commenter said she does this all the time for recipes that call for small amounts of liquor.
Jane Craske
December 19, 2012 at 3:36 pmOh my. I think I need to make some tonight.