Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Truffles
July 24, 2019 by Nicole Collins
Chocolate truffles are definitely a “feel better” food, for me.
I don’t know that it’s in a comfort food kind of way. I think it’s more about the memories that I associate with truffles.
I think we’ve talked before about things that spark certain memories for us: music, scents, tastes. I have a ton of those, for sure. But today’s treat makes me think of my mom.
There's a local chocolatier where I live called Wockenfuss that has the best, in my opinion, truffles and buttercreams. They have all of the flavors, but my favorites are the vanilla and the strawberry buttercreams.
Every so often, my mom will pick me up a box a chocolates from Wockenfuss. But, she doesn’t just buy the stock, prepackaged boxes. She carefully selects a variety of candies that she knows I will like…making sure those orange buttercreams don’t come anywhere near my goodies! And, she always does a great job of evenly mixing the buttercreams with the truffles.
Every now and then, she’ll get me a box on a birthday or near a holiday. But most of the time, I see those boxes during some of the more challenging days in life. If I’m having a bad week or if there’s just been a lot a stressful situations surrounding me, here comes mama with a box of chocolates. And, sometimes she’ll give me a “just because” box, not even knowing yet that I’ve been having a bad day. I think that is what makes them even more special.
Chocolate really does cure everything.
As much as I love those little candies, I’ve never really thought about making them myself…until now!
So today, we’re making Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Truffles.
Now, this is a totally simple recipe that really only requires 4 ingredients. But, the sweet, rich, decadent result that comes from such simple ingredients really can’t be beat.
We start with some dark chocolate. Most chocolate candy recipes will tell you to use a high quality block of chocolate that you’ve chopped yourself. But, I find that a good quality chocolate chip works just as well in this recipe. Now, I typically am not much of a dark chocolate fan. But, our next ingredient falls on the sweeter side, so we don’t need a super sweet chocolate. Dark chocolate really is the right choice here.
To make our creamy ganache center, we’re going to melt the chocolate with some cinnamon flavored coffee creamer. Coffee creamer is definitely NOT a traditional ingredient in candy making, but it works perfectly to add the creamy element that we’d get from heavy cream while imparting special flavors. After the two are melted and mixed together, the mix gets to set in the fridge while getting ready to get rolled and dipped!
After our ganache filling has become nice and firm, we can use a spoon to help portion it out to roll into little bite sized chocolate balls. Then, we dip them in some more melted dark chocolate; and we give them a little sprinkle of something special to add a whole other layer of flavor to this treat…smoked sea salt!
The warm and sweet notes of the cinnamon become the perfect partner for the slightly bitter chocolate and the smoky salt. Your tastebuds really do experience a little bit of all of those elements in each bite. Meanwhile, your mouth is in heaven at the cool crack of the chocolate shell filled with the creamy ganache filling. Sensory overload, for sure!
The cool thing about this recipe is that it’s just as much about the method as the recipe. You could experiment by making all kinds of flavor combinations. Sugar cookie creamer and white chocolate. Peppermint creamer and milk chocolate. Caramel creamer and semisweet chocolate. The combinations are endless!
And, now my wheels are spinning and I’m thinking buttercream candies might have to make an appearance on my agenda very soon!
That’s all I’ve got for now! I’m practically in a sugar coma just thinking about all of this candy.
I hope you enjoy…and, let’s eat!
Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Truffles
Serves: 18-20 truffles Print
Ingredients:
8oz + 10oz dark chocolate chips, divided
½ cup cinnamon flavored coffee creamer
1 tsp coconut oil
smoked sea salt
Directions:
Make the Ganache: In a microwave safe bowl, add 8oz chocolate chips and cinnamon coffee creamer. Microwave for 1 minute. Set aside for 1 min. Whisk chocolate mix until fully combined and smooth. Pour mix into a pie plate or 8x8 casserole dish. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Dip the truffles: Use a spoon to scoop ganache, and roll into tablespoon sized balls. In a microwave safe bowl, combine 10oz chocolate chips and coconut oil. Microwave in 15-30 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Use a fork to dip the rolled ganache into the melted chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip off, and place on a parchment lined tray. Top truffles with a sprinkle of smoked sea salt. Refrigerate until chocolate coating has hardened...about 30 mins to 1 hour. Serve!
Recipe notes:
*Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
*For this recipe, you want to measure your chocolate by weight, not by volume. A kitchen scale works best for this. This is the one I use.
*You can use the method of this recipe for any combination of flavors! Milk chocolate chips and peppermint creamer, white chocolate chips and sugar cookie creamer, and semisweet chocolate with caramel creamer are all GREAT options! The possibilities are endless.
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