Sugar Rush, Part Two

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Seems like everyone who read yesterday’s post wants it, so here is the easiest truffle recipe you will ever make! The recipe is from a book called Homemade Candy: By the food editors of Farm Journal. It is a hardcover book, originally published in 1970 and cost my mom $4.95, according to the cover flap! Years ago when Julesie, our mom and I started making these yummy candies, I pilfered borrowed this book from Mom’s kitchen and just never gave it back*. Of course, I *did* write the recipe down for her, so she’d have it.

Truffles
Too delicious for words to describe (it really says that, under the title!)

1 1/2 lbs. milk chocolate (3 c. shaved or finely cut and firmly packed**)
1/3 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. dairy half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Assorted sugars or jimmies for rolling, or chocolate for dipping

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler over hot (not boiling) water. When melted, beat until smooth. Meanwhile combine heavy cream and half-and-half in a small saucepan; heat to scalding. Remove from heat and let stand until temperature is about 130 degrees.

Add warm cream to melted chocolate all at once. Beat until smooth and well-blended. Remove from heat; add vanilla and let cool.

When cool, beat with electric mixer until candy is light and rather fluffy. Let stand in refrigerator until firm.

When firm, roll a teaspoonful of candy into a ball in palms of hands***. Roll each ball immediately in sugars/jimmies. Makes about 36-40 truffles****.

*The woman honestly has hundreds of cookbooks. Trust me, I did her a favor by taking this one off her hands.

**I totally cheat and just buy milk chocolate chips.

***This time, I couldn’t find the really, really small, petit-four-sized baking cups. I got the mini-sized baking cups, and so I used one of those mini-cookie scoopers to make the truffle balls. They fit PERFECTLY and it was a little less messy!!

****I always double the recipe. And by the way, when you’re done making these, they should be kept refrigerated if possible; otherwise they start to get really, really soft.

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14 Comments

  • Melissa

    Oh, easy peasey..I’m going to have to add this to my list. I so wish I had cream and half and half in the house..the rest of the stuff I have.

    Oh Joe….:)

  • Colleen - Mommy Always Wins

    Wow. Absolutely NO reason I shouldn’t make these. Its almost a shame to think of letting a snow day, like tomorrow’s go by WITHOUT making something like these…hmm…I’d have to brave the grocery store with two kids tonight by myself, though…

  • Melisa

    Sorry about that, Nonna. I updated my little “jimmies” term with a link. Jimmies is another word for sprinkles. Ha ha

    I never knew what that meant either until was a teenager and heard it somewhere. According to the Wiki, it’s from the NE, but I never lived there so I don’t know where the heck I heard it. Anyway, check the link. 🙂

  • Dea

    I love that it says jimmies – when we moved here, and I asked for jimmies….the girl at the ice cream place looked at me like I’d grown a second head! LMAO! Apparently, it’s a regional thing….

    THANK YOU for this recipe, I love candy making!!! 😀

  • k a t i e

    …I’m making rum-balls on Sunday and I have every intention of trying this out.

    Just one thing…

    what’s ‘dairy half-and-half’?

  • Oh My GOFF!

    There is NO WAY I’m gonna try making a truffle. It would be a complete failure. I would never get passed STEP 1. Yep it’s be over at the shavings.

  • Dea

    Dairy half and half is the actual half and half you buy made of milk and cream – not the non-dairy creamer stuff!! If you use the non-dairy creamer, it won’t turn out! 😀

  • Melisa

    Thanks Deanna! I actually e-mailed Katie immediately to tell her (after I researched it) that she might know it as "single cream", which is apparently what the Brits and Aussies call "dairy half & half". Wow, who knew we'd be learning all those regional terms in this one post???

    Angie: Seriously, YOU cannot fail at these. Try it.

  • Michelle

    I love making truffles. One question though – why melt the chocolate rather than just letting the scalded cream melt the chocolate? Does it add to or change the texture for these? I so need to find those cherry bits!