Peppermint Truffles from Ganache

So, you may have been wondering how much hot chocolate I was going to make with all that ganache the other day. Hot chocolate for everyone! Actually, not really. Hot chocolate for no one. Truffles for everyone…or at least for me. The bonus of making hot chocolate from ganache is that I successfully crossed off one of the items on my holiday “baking” list: truffles. They are flashy, and I like adding a few here and there to cookie gift containers. Plus, they’re easy, especially if you’ve already made ganache for hot chocolate.

If you weren’t paying attention before to see how you make ganache, I’ll recap. First, we’re going to heat some heavy whipping cream over here in this pan over a medium heat.

And in a separate pan or bowl not on the heat, we’ll place our dark chocolate. I’m using a 72% cacao, which makes for a pretty dark truffle center.

When the cream starts to boil, pour it directly into the chocolate pieces and stir until it’s all melted together.

Then add a bit of peppermint schnapps or peppermint extract and stir that in.

Let it cool on the counter and then in the fridge for at least an hour until the ganache is nice and firm.

If you need to, you can let the ganache sit out so it’s easier to scoop. THis may be necessary if you let it sit in the fridge for a day or two.

Using a small cookie scoop like this one, scoop the ganache into small balls…

…and then roll them directly on the pan until the sides are smooth. When you’ve rolled them all, slide the cookie sheet into the freezer for an hour or more. This will make them easy to dip into warm melted chocolate without risking melting of the ganache during the process.

Melt some milk chocolate (to balance out the dark of the ganache) over a double boiler or in the microwave by setting it for 30 seconds, stirring, 30 seconds, stirring again. Then plop in your frozen chocolate balls. I like to use a fork, seeing as I don’t own a fancy dipping set.

Once the ball is covered, carefully slide it onto a parchment covered cookie sheet or onto a baking mat. I like to use a toothpick to scrape of the bottom of the fork first and then to push from the very bottom of the ball onto the cookie sheet. This leaves me with hardly any chocolate mess at the bottom of the ball.

Now you can top off the truffles with crushed peppermint pieces for a showy look, or leave them all nice and sleek and smooth if that’s your plan. If your dining room isn’t freezing cold, you may need to slide them on the sheet into the fridge for five minutes or so to harden the chocolate completely.

Whatever you do, make sure you remember to move them from the cookie sheet and out of sight before those half pint children get up and start begging for the candy that’s sitting out. You may have a mutiny on your hands if you reject their pleas.