Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

This is another OMG recipe.  These are wonderful, they take a bit of time but it's mostly waiting time. I made these Thursday (10/28) in between all my errands that day.  You really need a scale for this one to get all the measurements right.  The chocolate is the important part.  My daughter visited one of her friends that night and took her one of these.  The lady told her they were out of this world and wanted to know if I was interested in selling them.  WOW maybe yet another side job.  :-)

This recipe calls for candy coating, which stays hard at room temperature. You can use real chocolate, but you will want to temper the chocolate  so that these soft truffles have a hard outer shell. Like many truffle recipes, this recipe requires several extensive chilling periods, so be sure to plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time. Printable recipe Ingredients: 1 large pkg fresh raspberries (or 1 package (10 oz) frozen raspberries, thawed 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 lb semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 3/4 cup cream 2 tbsp light corn syrup 1 lb chocolate candy coating, for dipping *2 squares white chocolate *I used Gherdeli ) optional You can see a bit of the ganache peeking out of the truffle on the right. Preparation:   Cook the raspberries until they break down, add about 3 TBL white sugar,  strain to remove the seeds.  This takes about 15 minutes on med/low heat. (If using frozen raspberries place the raspberries in a blender or food processor, and process them until they are liquid. Pour the raspberry puree into a small saucepan through a strainer or cheesecloth to remove the seeds.)  Add the powdered sugar to the raspberry puree and heat it over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it is thick and syrupy and reduced by about half. Remove the puree from heat and set aside for now.  Place the chopped chocolate into a large bowl. Place the cream in a small saucepan until bubbles start to form around the edges, but do not allow it to come to a full boil. Once simmering, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and allow it to sit for a minute or two to soften and melt the chocolate.  Whisk the chocolate and cream together gently, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and homogenous. This is your “ganache.” Add the corn syrup and raspberry puree to the chocolate mixture, and whisk it all together. Cover the surface of the ganache with cling wrap, and refrigerate until it is thick enough to scoop, at least 3 hours.  Cover a baking sheet with foil or waxed paper. Using a candy scoop or teaspoon, scoop the ganache into small balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Once all of the ganache is scooped, freeze the balls for 2 hours or until firm.  Place the candy coating in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in one-minute increments until melted, stirring after every minute to prevent overheating. Stir until the coating is completely smooth. Allow the coating to cool until it is barely warm. Do not let it start setting up, but let it cool down so that it does not melt the truffle fillings.  Using dipping tools or a fork, dip a truffle into the chocolate. Bring it out of the chocolate and allow the excess to drip back into the bowl. Place the dipped truffle back onto the baking sheet and repeat with remaining truffles and chocolate.  Place the truffles in the refrigerator to set the candy coating for about 30 minutes. If desired, you can melt red candy coating (or tint white coating with red candy coloring) and drizzle a small amount over the truffles decoratively.  Chocolate Raspberry Truffles can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. These would make wonderful Christmas gifts to give to your children's teachers,  neighbors or whomever you might want to give a small gift to during the holidays, they would pair well with some homemade cookies.  I have lots of those recipes too.  :-) Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the things YOU love. Donna

Raspberry Chocolate Cream Cheese Bites

I recently made some raspberry sauce and wanted to make some sort of dessert.  Well these are delish but very rich.  One small square was enough for me.  Kind of like fudge, it's so yummy but yet sooooooooooo RICH in texture and flavor.

I adapted this recipe from Land o Lakes site
Printable Recipe

Crust

1 1/4 cups finely crushed chocolate graham crackers

1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling

1 pkg of Reisen candy, unwrapped (see picture)

1/2 bar hersey chocolate with caramel (see picture)

2 tablespoons half and half

1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

Coating

4 squares Ghirardelli  chocolate melted     

Directions 

Heat oven to 350°F. Line 8-inch square baking pan with double thickness of aluminum foil, extending foil over ends of pan. Spray foil with no-stick cooking spray. Combine all crust ingredients in small bowl. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.

Combine caramels and half & half in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Pour over crust in pan. Sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate while preparing cream cheese mixture.

 

Combine cream cheese and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, beating just until combined. Stir in sour cream. Pour over caramel mixture.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until just set 2 inches from edge of pan. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Loosely cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours. Lift cheesecake from pan using foil ends. Cut into 36 squares.

Place cooling rack over large piece of waxed paper on counter.  Pierce each cheesecake square with fork or toothpick. Spoon raspberry sauce over top then drizzle chocolate over top and sides of each cheesecake square, letting excess chocolate drip back into pan. Place onto cooling rack. Let stand about 20 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Store refrigerated. 

Trust me these will satisfy a sweet tooth or chocolate craving.  They take a little work but are well worth the effort.

Pineapple-Raspberry Muffins

These are the muffins that Michael and I made while I was in Maine.  They were delish I must say.  I had taken a strawberry muffin recipe and  change the ingredients because Orm Loves, loves, loves Pineapple AND I had some pineapple left over from making pineapple scones.  Yet another recipe I shall share soon.

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup  milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups  all-purpose flour

1 cup  granulated white sugar

1 tablespoon  baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup  unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1 - 1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple (drain juice)

1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2 TBL unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup raspberry sauce

Raspberry Sauce (puree)

1/3 cup white sugar

2 cups fresh raspberries

juice from 1/ 2  lemon

pinch of salt

Put all the ingredients into a saucepan, and cook over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Turn the heat to low, and cook, stirring, until the berries become very soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and pass through a fine strainer to remove the seeds. Be sure to press firmly to get all the juice. Mixture will thicken slightly as it cools. Refrigerate until needed.
Directions:
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).  Place rack in middle of oven. Line 16 - 18 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a measuring cup mix together the milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour

mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. (The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.) Remove one cup of the mixture and set aside in a separate bowl to make the streusel topping. To the remaining muffin batter, gently fold in the pioneapple and lemon zest.  Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. (Do not over mix this mixture or the muffins will be tough when baked.) 

Fill each muffin cup with the batter.  Fill any unused muffins cups with water to prevent the pan from warping.

For streusel topping:  Swirl 1/2 tsp. or so into each muffin using a toothpick.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons  butter and drizzle over the reserved 1 one cup of streusel topping. Mix together with a fork until it is crumbly and looks like coarse meal. Sprinkle a couple of  teaspoons of the streusel over the top of each muffin. (The muffins will be more moist than regular Blueberry muffins) Place in the oven and bake until very lightly browned and firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 - 22 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes 16 - 18 regular-sized muffins.

 

These were awesome.  Micheal took all the pictures except of course for the one of him placing the muffins in the oven.  Sure hope you give these a try and let me know what you think.  Have a wonderful day, and Remember to Always Find the Time to Do all The Things You Love