Cute little gingerbread man truffles for the holidays.

The sun finally came out yesterday after a week of gray and dreary skies. My window filled home has been so dark that even though I made these gingerbread truffles quite a few days ago, I couldn't get a good picture of them until yesterday. I usually try to work on blog projects when it is sunny, so that I can use natural light to take my pictures. I've never been a fan of gloomy weather, but now that I am even more dependent on sunshine, my disdain for cloudy days had grown. I did go ahead and shoot all my step-by-step images and even with lots of editing, some of them look terrible. Sorry about that!

These little gingerbread truffles not only look like gingerbread men, but they taste like gingerbread. I adapted this recipe from Peter's Chocolate and love how the spice and molasses flavor compliment the milk chocolate. If you don't have a gingerbread man silicone mold you can just scoop and roll these in some cocoa powder or even dip them in chocolate. Any way you make them they are really a nice Christmas treat.

Gingerbread Truffles (makes 24)

Ingredients:

2/3 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 ounces good quality milk chocolate, finely chopped

Supplies Needed:

small saucepan
disposable icing bag or heavy duty zip top bag
Wilton Silicone 24 Cavity Gingerbread Mold

Instructions:

Pour heavy whipping cream, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg into a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring often, until it just begins to boil. Remove it from the heat and allow it to sit for 30 minutes. 

Once again heat it over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, remove it from the heat and add the finely chopped milk chocolate and vanilla. Stir it just until the chocolate is completely submerged in the cream, then let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Stir until smooth and creamy. If you still have any chunks of chocolate remaining, you can gently heat it over low heat until melted. 

NOTE: Do not over heat this ganache (the chocolate mixture) or the cocoa butter will rise to the surface and your truffles will be oily. If this happens, you can stir in a tablespoon of cold cream which will help bring the mixture back together, just be aware that your truffles will be softer.

Fill a disposable pastry bag or a zip top bag with the gingerbread ganache. Pipe it into the gingerbread mold filling the cavities about 3/4 of the way full.

Refrigerate for one hour, then freeze for another hour.

Un-mold the gingerbread men truffles. If they are sticking at all, freeze for a while longer. They should come out clean.

Allow truffles to come to room temperature before serving. You can place them in a candy dish or on a serving tray for your Christmas celebration. If you have time and the inclination, you can even decorate these gingerbread men with frosting, melted chocolate, and candies. Have fun!

Keep them stored in an airtight container. If kept in a cool dry place they will keep up to two weeks. If you keep them refrigerated they will keep for about three weeks. 

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- Beth

Items used to create this project that are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales)