Creme de Menthe Truffles - Week 3 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies!

Mmm...Andes mint truffles!  I am a fan of Andes mints.  I love it when they come with the check at a restaurant.  That doesn't happen very often, but when it does it's such a treat!  I saw this recipe in my Pillsbury Holiday Baking November 2006 issue and couldn't wait to get started.  I had everything I needed in the pantry.  Did I mention that I basically have the baking aisle in my pantry?  :) 

So here's what you'll need:

Creme de Menthe Truffles

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 bag (10 oz.) creme de menthe baking chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

10 oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating

Heat whipping cream over low heat 2 to 3 minutes or until cream is warm.  Remove from heat.  Add baking chips and chocolate chips; stir until melted and smooth.  Cover; refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.**  Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.  Shape mixture into 1-inch balls, dusting hands with powdered sugar or cocoa if necessary**.  Refrigerate 30 minutes.  Heat candy coating as directed on package (I love the kind you can microwave, just my personal preference).  Dip 1 truffle at a time in white candy coating to coat.  Return to waxed paper-lined cookie sheets.  Store in refrigerator.  Recipe says it yields 3 dozen truffles (I was only able to make 2 dozen, I guess I rolled them too big)!

**Cook's Notes

After melting the chocolate and putting it in the fridge to harden, Little Man woke up.  I had to come back to it about 4 hours later to try and shape the balls.  I had planned on using my Pampered Chef cookie scoop to shape them easily, but as soon as I placed it in the chocolate I knew I was in trouble.  The chocolate had been in the fridge  too long and had hardened.  I broke my scoop trying to get it out of the chocolate...sniff..sniff.  It was a sad moment, now I have to get a new one (which means I'll end up with more than just that)!  I ended up letting the chocolate sit on the counter for a bit to soften.  I also found that rubbing your hands with powdered sugar or cocoa created a disastrous mess.  Imagine having melted chocolate all over your hands and then adding cocoa powder too it...just think about it!  Not pretty!  Last, the only truffle that will have a pure white coating will be the first one.  The warm coating starts to melt the truffle a little on the outside and you end up with small streaks of chocolate in your white coating.  This isn't a huge deal unless you are a perfectionist, but who has time for that? :)  Okay, enough notes time for the verdict!

These were so A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.L.Y. delicious!  Yes, it required all caps and the exaggerated emphasis!  If I had tasted the inside of the truffle before coating it, I probably would have sat down with a spoon and the bowl of chocolate and devoured it in it's entirety.  The truffle is so smooth and creamy and has the perfect mint flavor.  And to top it off, it has a candy coating.  Who isn't looking for that in a truffle?  I shared these with a group one night this week and they were a hit.  The whole batch was completely gone within 24 hours!  C thought they were amazing and tried to hide them from the group and keep them all to himself...I may have found his new weakness.  Homemade truffles!

This is such a good base recipe too.  Imagine the possibilities...mix in a different type of chip and you have a whole new truffle.  Can anyone say chocolate peanut butter truffles?  Oh my!

Enjoy the recipe!  Don't forget to check out the links below to see what the rest of the group is baking this week!

Week 3 Twelve Weeks of Christmas: