Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donut Truffles

Truffles can be made with just about anything and Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donut Truffles are about to prove it! Just like the popular cake pops, these truffles are made with prepared, store-bought baked donuts. Dip them in melted white chocolate and top them with festive sprinkles!

I experimented quite a bit this year with truffles made from items one can find from any local bakery. Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donut Truffles took very little experimentation; it was almost perfect right from the get-go. For as long as I can remember, the Sour Cream Glazed Donut from Tim Hortons has been my favourite donut. There was a time long ago when I would get a coffee and two of those donuts for breakfast every weekday morning. Now, I limit donuts to only when we are going for a long drive.

I wish I could honestly state the same thing about these truffles. I could not stop eating them! Eventually, I packaged them and gave them away. There are a few stashed away in the freezer, but I buried them down deep, so I’m less inclined to go digging for them.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – making truffles is so easy, which is probably why they are so popular. Their popularity only increases around Christmastime, when people start to indulge a little more, have more visitors dropping by, and less time to spend baking elaborate confections. That is why I’ve devoted an entire series to truffles. This is the 4th recipe in Lord Byron’s 12 Truffles of Christmas series!

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.

• Sour Cream Glazed Donuts – Sometimes they are called old-fashioned glazed, or just vanilla glazed. I’m including this link so that you can see exactly what I used.
• Cream Cheese – When baking with cream cheese it is always best to use brick style rather than whipped or cream cheese in a tub.  The brick style is firmer and more condensed.  Cream cheese adds texture and flavour to baked items. Even though these truffles are no-bake, the brick-style cream cheese still works best. The firmness ensures a firmer truffle which is easier to roll into balls.
• Coconut Oil – This helps to thin out the chocolate so that you can get a thinner layer onto the truffles when dipping them. If you prefer a thicker white chocolate coating, leave out the coconut oil
• White Chocolate – Use a brand that you trust. I’ve used no-name white chocolate before and it wouldn’t melt smoothly.
• Sprinkles – Festive sprinkles always make truffles look better, and they cover up any flaws you might make when dipping the truffles into melted chocolate!

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!

HOW TO MAKE DONUT TRUFFLES:

Old Fashioned Sour Cream Glazed Donut Truffles are super easy to make and you only need three ingredients. Well, four ingredients if you count the sprinkles! The only part of this recipe that requires much attention is the breaking down of the donuts into crumbs. Once that’s out of the way, the rest is a breeze.

In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with a hand-held mixer until it is smooth and creamy. Add the crumbled donuts to the bowl and use the mixer to beat the crumbs into the cream cheese until mixed thoroughly. Next, measure out one tablespoon of the donut mixture and roll into a ball. Place the ball on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have used up all of the donut mixture. Place the tray in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will firm up the balls making them easier to dip into the white chocolate.

The next section will provide you with further clarification on how to crumble the donuts, just in case you’re unclear in any way. And, the section following that will walk you through how to coat the balls into melted white chocolate. There are a few tips and tricks in that section to help you make the most beautiful truffles possible. Don’t forget to add a few sprinkles to make your truffles a little more pretty and certainly a lot more festive!

LET’S TALK ABOUT DONUTS!

If you clicked on the link above, you will note that the donuts I used came in a package of 4 which weighed in at 412 grams. For those of you in the United States, the packaging would most likely have ounces rather than grams, so look for 14.5 ounces. I used 12 donuts, which might seem like a lot, but it does make 36 truffles. If you want to make less than that, simply halve the ingredients.

The donuts will need to be crumbled. Crumbling donuts might not sound like much fun, especially if you’re crumbling 12 of them, but don’t be tempted to use your food processor. Even if you break the donuts up and pulse them in the processor, the crumb is bound to get too clumpy, because it’s been mixed with the glaze. And, donuts are moist to start with! Speaking of moist donuts, if you have donuts that are two or three days old, they are perfect for truffles!

You will need to crumble the donuts by hand. If you have kids, get them to help you with this. I’m sure they’d love to get their hands in the mix! Unless you are extremely meticulous, you will never get them crumbled uniformly. And, you don’t need to do that at all! You should end up with a mixture of crumbs that look like sand, with larger bits the size of peas, in there too. Once you get that done, the rest of the recipe is a breeze!

THE BEST WAY TO COAT TRUFFLES IN CHOCOLATE!

I used to think that perfectly dipped chocolate truffles was witchcraft! Of course, I’m kidding, but honestly, I could never master it. Either the chocolate was too thick, or not smooth enough. And, I was always left with a pool of chocolate at the bottom of the truffle that would harden. There’s nothing wrong with extra chocolate, but I so badly wanted to make my Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donut Truffles look better.

I tried that fancy little tool for dipping things into chocolate. It’s like a two-tined fork with really long tines. Apparently, the truffle is supposed to balance on there, while the thin tines allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Lies! There is no fancy tool needed to get perfect chocolate-dipped truffles. All you need is melted chocolate with a good consistency and two toothpicks. Here’s how I do it.

If you use melting chocolate right out of the bag, like candy melts or chocolate chips, for example, you will end up with very thick chocolate. The thicker the chocolate, the longer it will take to harden, which means more time for it to run. Thin your chocolate by adding a teaspoon of coconut oil or butter to the bowl before you start to melt it. This will thin it without any risk of your chocolate seizing or compromising the flavour.

DIP, LIFT, TAP AND TOOTHPICKS???

Working with chilled truffles, which I keep refrigerated until the chocolate is ready, I insert a toothpick about 1/3rd of an inch into the truffle. Dunk the truffle into the bowl of chocolate and gently move the toothpick in a circular motion so that the entire truffle is enrobed. Carefully lift the truffle out of the chocolate and slightly tap the toothpick on the rim of the bowl. The excess chocolate will fall back into the bowl.

I cannot stress enough the importance of using a chilled truffle center. The coldness will help to harden the chocolate right away. The rest is just semantics! With a second toothpick, run it very gently under the truffle to wipe away the excess chocolate. Do not press against the truffle; just wipe against the dripping chocolate.

Next, transfer the truffle to the prepared baking tray. You should still be holding the toothpick sticking out of the truffle and the truffle should be sitting on the parchment paper. Using the second toothpick, push it gently into the hole where the first toothpick is standing. Gently twist the first toothpick between your thumb and finger to loosen. Pull the toothpick up and out. Finally, remove the second toothpick, and use it to carefully smooth the still melted chocolate over the hole.

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!

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, GARNISH!

I had to practice quite a bit to get truffles looking their best. Even now, there are sometimes when I’ll run into a problem and they don’t turn out as nicely as I’d like them to! I learned a long time ago from watching re-runs of Julia Child’s cooking series that garnish can cover up little mishaps. There’s a running joke in my family that parsley is my best friend, because I love to garnish everything!

Even if you dipped the perfect truffle, it’s still nice to add something to the outside of it. As you can see in the photographs, I garnished the truffles with some sprinkles. Not only does it look better, it covers any holes left behind from the toothpick! Also, as you can see from the photos, I also drizzled some additional melted white chocolate over the top of some of the truffles. That’s also a great way to cover and flaws.

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!