Blue Christmas Truffles

Blue Christmas Truffles are prepared with a white chocolate ganache base. The beautiful colour comes from the addition of blue curacao, which creates a warming sensation as these melt in your mouth. White chocolate and a hint of citrus is what you get with these treats!

Earlier this year, I started to experiment with cocktails and mixology. I published a new cocktail every Wednesday for a few months. After spending a small fortune on building up a home bar, I find I have lots of leftovers, and opened bottles, so using some of it up in a truffle was a no-brainer. Hazelnut Irish Cream Truffles was the first boozy truffle in Lord Byron’s 12 Truffles of Christmas series. Blue Christmas Truffles are up next!

Truth be told, there are only two tablespoons of Blue Curacao in the entire lot, so these truffles are certainly safe for your little ones to eat as well. There’s just enough to not only flavour the truffles but to give them that warming effect on the tongue that one usually experiences when consuming alcohol. And, if you are completely against using alcohol in your baking, just substitute the curacao with extra heavy cream!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• White Chocolate – Use good white chocolate. Truffles are meant to be inexpensive, but you still want them to taste good. I tried making these with cheap white chocolate chips and they turned out rather chalky, not smooth at all.
• Cream – Do not be tempted to use half and half or a lighter cream. You must use 35% whipping cream or a full-fat, heavy cream. Anything less and forming the mixture into balls is going to cause you lots of trouble.
• Blue Curacao – You can use any brand you wish. I think the only brand at the closest LCBO was McGuinness, so that’s what I used.
• Sanding Sugar – The truffles are rolled in sanding sugar to make them sparkle. You do have other options if you prefer not to use sanding sugar.

MORE CHRISTMAS CONFECTIONS!

Maybe you don’t care much for truffles. Or, maybe you’re impatient and can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s recipe will be! If either one of those applies to you, I have a remedy. Last year, I published a series called Lord Byron’s 12 Biscotti of Christmas. The year before that, I published a series called Lord Byron’s 12 Bundt Cakes of Christmas. You can click on the image below and see the entire series on one page! Don’t worry, you won’t lose this page. It will open up a new webpage so that you can easily get back to these truffles!

HEAVY CREAM VS WHIPPING CREAM

Confession time – I use them both interchangeably, depending on what is available at the store, or whatever is on sale! Both of these can be quite costly. If memory serves me correctly, a 250mL carton, or one cup, here in Canada, will run just short of $5! There is a difference in the two, but not enough to concern yourself with when it comes to these Blue Christmas Truffles.

Just in case you’re interested, the most basic difference is the amount of fat contained in both. Whipping cream has 35% fat. It can be whipped into peaks and it’s also rich enough that it won’t curdle when heated in soups and sauces. It’s nearly identical to heavy cream so if a recipe calls for heavy cream and you can only find whipping cream, feel free to use that instead.

In contrast, heavy cream, which is sometimes called heavy whipping cream, contains about 38% fat. If I’m planning to pipe whipped cream onto a pie or onto a cup of hot chocolate, I’ll use heavy cream instead of whipping cream. The heavier fat content ensures that the whipped cream will not deflate as quickly or get those little pools of water that ruin the look of our hard work!

SANDING VS GRANULATED SUGAR

I use coarse sanding sugar quite often in my recipes, and I hope it hasn’t been too difficult for you to find. Sanding sugar is sometimes referred to as baking sugar, and there are some substitutes. You can use other sugars – which are basically the same, but named something differently – there’s pearl sugar and coarse sugar. You cannot, however, use granulated sugar. Let me explain why.

Whereas an individual granule of sanding sugar is large and hard, a single granule of granulated sugar is quite small. Sanding sugar will hold up to the heat in your oven without melting; granulated sugar will not. If you cannot find sanding sugar, then I’m afraid this recipe is not for you.

You can find sanding sugar online, but it’s expensive in comparison to what you can find at a baking supply store. I buy most of my sanding sugar at Bulk Barn. They have just about every colour you will need!

MORE ROLLING OPTIONS:

If you don’t care for sanding sugar, you can certainly use other options in its place. For this recipe, I would consider using only things that would compliment the white chocolate and citrus flavour. Nuts might not be what I would choose, but if you want to take that route, consider using cashews, macadamias, or even blanched almonds. Remember that cashews are a softer nut, so you won’t get as much crunch factor as you would with hazelnuts. You can buy most nuts already chopped, but you can chop and toast them yourself at home. Whatever you do, buy salted nuts, because chocolate and salt and wonderful pairing.

In the case that you have a nut allergy, or if you just don’t like them, you have other rolling options. The most commonly used topping for rolling chocolate truffles into is cocoa powder. The cocoa powder will stick very well to the white chocolate ganache, but you will lose that gorgeous blue colour. You might also consider using espresso powder. Like chocolate and salt, chocolate and coffee are a perfect match!

One can never go wrong with candy sprinkles. Truffles with sprinkles are probably the second most common rolling option! You can also use coconut. In fact, I have rolled truffles in coconut many times. Try toasting the coconut for even more flavour!

MORE CHRISTMAS RECIPES!

Did you know that I’ve been posting a 24 Cookies of Christmas series for a few years now? There are over 100 Christmas cookie recipes that you can find right here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen! To make it easier to find, I have created a page for each series. Just click on the image below and you’ll find the full series for that volume all one page!

HOW TO MAKE BLUE CHRISTMAS TRUFFLES:

I said this in almost every truffle post in this series, but it’s worth repeating again today. Even though truffles are super easy to make, they do require a little bit of patience. I’m speaking of course about the time it takes for the truffle mixture to set up in the fridge before they can be rolled into balls. It’s something I really dislike. I can’t tell you how many times I refuse to make a recipe because I have to wait for something to chill. I have no patience, I tell you! Ha! But if you have ever worked with ganache before, then you’ll know that patience is key.

Unlike most ganache-type recipes, we are not going to be heating the cream and pouring it over the chocolate. For this recipe, we are going to add the white chocolate and cream into a bowl and microwave it together. There is very little cream in this recipe. Ganache is usually made with a one-to-one ratio, but not in this case. The ganache would be way too soft to roll into balls.

So, add the chocolate and the cream to a microwave-friendly bowl. Heat in 30-second increments at half speed. Stir well between each increment, until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Finally, add the blue curacao and stir into the chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for two hours to firm up.

FORMING THE TRUFFLES:

While the chocolate mixture sets up in the fridge, set up a bowl of your rolling option. Again, I’m using sanding sugar, but you can use other things, such as coconut! Once the 2 hours have passed, set up a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Measure out a slightly heaping teaspoon of the mixture. Roll into balls and then roll in the sanding sugar until coated. Place on the parchment-lined baking tray. Once all of the balls are rolled, place the baking tray in the fridge for an hour to set up.

TIPS & TRICKS: If the chocolate is too soft to roll into balls, the reason could be that the chocolate you used had too much fat content. This would certainly be the case with cheap, no name chocolate. Try placing the bowl into the freezer for 30 minutes and try rolling the balls again. If the chocolate is sticking to your hands, wash your hands and dry them well. A build up of chocolate on your palms will cause the sticking. I washed my hands several times while rolling the chocolate mixture into balls.

STORING, PACKAGING, AND FREEZING

When it comes to truffles of any kind, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop. Store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze these truffles, again, pile them into a food-safe, freezer-friendly container. You’ll want to ensure a very tight fitting lid too. (I use these quite often when freezing baked goods.) I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in! You can freeze these for up to three months. Enjoy!