A Pinch of Poison

APOP: Debs' Challenge ll - Christmas Truffles

'Tis the season to be jolly! Falalalalalaaaa lalalalaa... And all that jazz. So! I challenge YOU to make at least one batch (you'll want more) of my favourite Christmas Truffles!

I'm always pretty much broke at Christmas. Yep, every year :( So I usually make a batch of these as a present for my friends or church. They're cheap, tasty and you only need to give a couple to each person :P It's the thought that counts!

Anyway, YOU won't be giving them away!

Ingredients:

6oz dark chocolate 2oz dark brown sugar (muscovado) 1oz butter 2 egg yolks 1tablespoon apricot brandy/vanilla (I normally use vanilla... just because it's easier to get)

1tablespoon milk 1oz apricots/raisins (If you want... I added them once, but mostly just pure, unadulterated chocolate is the best :P)

at least 1 oz digestive crushed (Have up to 4oz on standby)

Drinking chocolate powder or chocolate sprinkles

Step One: Read Step 4 and then come back...

The REAL Step One: A Whole Lot of Awesome

Okay, take a metal/glass bowl and place it over a pot half-filled with water. Heat it until the water is boiling. Then break the chocolate into the bowl and melt it. Once it's melted, mix in the sugar (still over the heat) and add the butter to melt it. Mix it all together.

Step Two: Heart-Healthy... Nah

Now it's time to get rid of the healthy part of the egg. This is actually much much easier than it sounds. Basically, crack the egg over a bowl, but don't drop the inside into the bowl, just hold the halves together and let the clear stuff drain away. Once it's pretty much gone, start swapping the yoke from one half to the other. Do this a few times. Got it? Good. Now do it with the other!

Step Three: In which eggs meet milk and break into pieces because vanilla's there too....

I hope you haven't taken the chocolate off the heat. If you have, put it back on. We are not done torturing it yet! Okay, add the egg yokes, milk and vanilla. Mix it all together and NOW take it off the heat.

Step Four: Oh wait... you really should do this first....

Put 4oz of digestive biscuits (or equivalent) into a pastic bag. Push the air out. Tie the end. Get a rolling pin. And BEAT the dang things! Hahaha! Yep, crush them. Keep going till they're nothing but fine crumbs.

Step Five: The Hardest Part

Okay, now, I should warn you. These truffles can go TERRIBLY wrong at this point. You have to try and make sure to get the right consistency. Mix in the crumbs, a bit at a time. You don't want to do it until the mixture is properly hard, because it still has to cool. But you want it to feel like it WILL be hard when it is cool. My advice: Too much is better than too little. Once you find yourself running out of crumbs, you might be done.

Step Six: Almost Done

Put the bowl into the fridge to let it cool. It has to be completely COLD once you come back to it.

Step Seven: And when it's cold

Take the bowl out again. Make sure it's cold. There's no point doing this if it's half cold! Now you get to see if you picked the right amount of crumbs. Roll the mixture into balls about an inch and a half wide. It will be sticky, so have fun :P Roll the truffles in either chocolate powder or chocolate sprinkles. If you can find those mini-cupcake holders, they're perfect for holding the truffles. If not, I generally wrap them in tin foil or metallic wrapping paper. They look nicest that way :P

And enjoy! Even if they don't turn out perfect. They're SO nice to eat. It just gets frustrating. But I'm assuming you'll get them right. Cos you're better than me at this stuff :)