Pumpkin Truffles

I have mixed emotions about the fact that pumpkin weeks are over.  On one hand I feel like there are so many great pumpkin recipes that I haven't had the chance to make.  I haven't even made pumpkin pie and pumpkin pie is the epitome of pumpkin desserts. (Although, I will be making and sharing my favorite pumpkin pie with you once I make it for Thanksgiving.)  On the other hand, I'm ready to mix it up and talk about other foods on the blog.

CA does not have mixed emotions - he's totally over pumpkin.

I had a hard time deciding what to make for the final pumpkin recipe.  I have a few more recipes that I've made an enjoyed before (pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin pie, pumpkin dip, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins) but I wanted to try another new recipe.  I'll just have to revisit pumpkin again at a later date.

I haven't made balls of any sort since I made hundreds of them for my friend's wedding.  I needed a ball break, similar to the pumpkin break I'm taking after today.  It's not that making balls is difficult, but it is awfully time consuming dipping balls in chocolate.  I did however, miss the innuendo that comes with having the word balls in every sentence I write.  I guess I could just call them truffles but that wouldn't be nearly as fun.

The pumpkin centers of these truffles are made from melted white chocolate, pumpkin puree, graham cracker crumbs, cream cheese and powdered sugar.  The great part about how these are made is that you just throw everything in the food processor and whiz it up until it's nice and smooth.

The only problem is that you then have to refrain from eating it all before you get a chance to cover it in chocolate.  If you have judgmental eagle eyes  you will see the imprint of my finger running through the filling in the picture to the left.

The mixture is very soft due to the soft cream cheese and melted white chocolate so it has to rest in the refrigerator for a few hours before it's hard enough to roll into balls.  I actually lost track of time and ended up leaving mine in the fridge overnight which was fine except that every time I opened the fridge I stuck a spoon in it.

Once the insides were scooped and rolled into balls, they managed to soften up so they needed to be chilled again before they are dipped in chocolate.

I had some trouble dipping these - the bottom kept sticking to the fork I used for dipping so I couldn't get them off the fork without mangling them.  I rectified this by holding each one between my fingers, dipping one side in the chocolate and sticking them in the fridge until the chocolate hardened.  Then I dipped the whole thing in chocolate again.  The already hardened first layer of chocolate was hard enough to keep it from sticking to the fork .  It worked perfectly!

These are some of my favorite balls of all time.   The insides are super creamy and the pumpkin flavor is prominent.  The biggest surprise for me was how much I loved the flavor of the graham crackers in the mixture.  It added such a great buttery and spicy element (not hot spicy, spices spicy).  All of this also paired perfectly with the chocolate.  I can't say enough good things about these.

My coworkers were super impressed by these.  In fact,  someone walked by my office holding one and exclaimed "What is in these?"  In a good way.

Now that pumpkin week is over you can expect more variety on the blog until I come up with another obsession.  Peppermint?  Cranberries?  Who knows.


Pumpkin Truffles
Adapted from Smile Sandwich
Makes 18 truffles (you should double it, I did!) 

Ingredients
1/2 cup White Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree
2/3 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 oz. Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
5 oz. Chocolate Candy Melts
2 tsp Shortening


Instructions
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 60 seconds.  Remove from the microwave and stir.  Continue microwaving in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted.

Add the melted white chocolate, pumpkin puree, graham crackers, cream cheese and powdered sugar to a food processor.  Blend until the mixture is completely smooth.  Refrigerate the dough for 3 hours or overnight until firm.

Scoop and roll the dough into 1 inch balls.  Place on a waxed paper lined baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes until firm.

Place the chocolate candy melts and shortening in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 60 seconds, remove from the microwave and stir.  Continue microwaving in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted.You don't want to use a huge bowl because you want the chocolate to be a few inches deep to make dipping the truffles easier. (I found that a cereal bowl works well).

Dip each ball in chocolate and set it back on the waxed paper lined baking sheet.  Let sit at room temperature until the chocolate hardens.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.


Enjoy!
Julie