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decorations
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Mini Twist stems
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mash the cake w/frosting & peanut butter
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freeze the cake balls before dipping
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melt bark/wafers; whisk & add food color
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dip cake balls
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put on wax paper
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You can use any size chocolate cake or brownie mix for these ~ or even leftover cake when you level the layers on a cake that you're baking. If you bake a cake or brownies specifically to make these, you can keep 1 layer of the cake, or some of the brownies to eat as-is and just use some of the baked cake/brownies to make the truffle balls ~ just adjust the peanut butter, chocolate frosting and melted coating accordingly.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PUMPKIN TRUFFLES
(1) CHOCOLATE CAKE or BROWNIES (from scratch or mix ~ baked per instructions ~ crumbled into a bowl) ~ I used 1 layer from a chocolate cake mix for these photos. NOTE that I used a small cookie scoop to make my truffle balls and got 18 large balls (probably 1-1/2" diameter)
(2) PEANUT BUTTER (creamy works best ~ I used about 2 heaping TB for 1 layer of chocolate cake)
(3) canned CHOCOLATE FROSTING, creamy ~ NOT WHIPPED (If you can find Chocolate Peanut Butter frosting, that's even better! ~ about 1/4 cup per 1 layer of chocolate cake)
(4) OPTIONAL: If you want to substitute RUM, BRANDY, or a NUT LIQUEUR for about 1 TB of the peanut butter or chocolate frosting, that's fine too.
**
DECORATION
(1) 4+ squares white almond melting bark or about 2 oz. white or orange melting wafers (I always make more melted bark/wafers. Extra can be stored in the refrigerator to reheat in microwave to use as decorations another time.)
(2) yellow & red food coloring (not necessary if you have orange melting wafers)
(3) green decorator icing in tube
(4) something to use as the "stem" for pumpkin (thin pretzel sticks or mini twists, piece of pliable brown candy {i.e. tootsie roll}, brown jelly belly, or whatever else you can think of)
***
Make the cake/brownies per package instructions and crumble as much of the baked product as you want into a bowl. Add the peanut butter and frosting (and liqueur, if you're using it). Mash it all together (I used a rubber scraper and my hands), until it all sticks together really well when you make little balls in your hand. TIP: start with a little and add more peanut butter/frosting as needed, so that it isn't TOO sticky.
Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. I used a small cookie scoop to make balls; and then rolled them tightly in the palm of my hand before setting onto the baking sheet. (I got 18 large balls from 1 layer of chocolate cake.) Stick the pan of balls into the freezer for at least 20 minutes (could even be overnight, if you want) because it's much easier to dip them when they're frozen.
Melt the bark/melting wafers in the microwave (I do it for 1 minute; stir, then 30 sec. increments if necessary), and whisk in the food coloring if you're using white bark. You can either dip the balls by sticking a chopstick into the top and dipping the ball into the melted bark (letting the excess drip off), but that doesn't always work for me ~ or put the ball on top of a fork and gently lower the fork into the melted bark; raise it up and let the excess drip off. Then I slide the coated ball off back onto the waxed paper with a butter knife. You may or may not have time to draw some indentation lines on the pumpkin with a toothpick ~ depends how fast your melting bark hardens up.
Stick whatever you're using as a stem into the top of the pumpkin (you already have a hole there if you used a chopstick for dipping). (If you're using a pliable brown candy {i.e. Tootsie Roll},you can tear off little pieces, and roll them into a little log. If you're using Mini-Twist Pretzels, use each little section as a crooked stem, which is actually pretty "life-like.") Use the tube of green decorator icing to "glue" in the stem, and to pipe on a leaf or vines, as you want them.
You can set these into bon bon papers, if you want. They can even be frozen or refrigerated, in a Tupperware or Rubbermaid container.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PUMPKIN TRUFFLES
(1) CHOCOLATE CAKE or BROWNIES (from scratch or mix ~ baked per instructions ~ crumbled into a bowl) ~ I used 1 layer from a chocolate cake mix for these photos. NOTE that I used a small cookie scoop to make my truffle balls and got 18 large balls (probably 1-1/2" diameter)
(2) PEANUT BUTTER (creamy works best ~ I used about 2 heaping TB for 1 layer of chocolate cake)
(3) canned CHOCOLATE FROSTING, creamy ~ NOT WHIPPED (If you can find Chocolate Peanut Butter frosting, that's even better! ~ about 1/4 cup per 1 layer of chocolate cake)
(4) OPTIONAL: If you want to substitute RUM, BRANDY, or a NUT LIQUEUR for about 1 TB of the peanut butter or chocolate frosting, that's fine too.
**
DECORATION
(1) 4+ squares white almond melting bark or about 2 oz. white or orange melting wafers (I always make more melted bark/wafers. Extra can be stored in the refrigerator to reheat in microwave to use as decorations another time.)
(2) yellow & red food coloring (not necessary if you have orange melting wafers)
(3) green decorator icing in tube
(4) something to use as the "stem" for pumpkin (thin pretzel sticks or mini twists, piece of pliable brown candy {i.e. tootsie roll}, brown jelly belly, or whatever else you can think of)
***
Make the cake/brownies per package instructions and crumble as much of the baked product as you want into a bowl. Add the peanut butter and frosting (and liqueur, if you're using it). Mash it all together (I used a rubber scraper and my hands), until it all sticks together really well when you make little balls in your hand. TIP: start with a little and add more peanut butter/frosting as needed, so that it isn't TOO sticky.
Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. I used a small cookie scoop to make balls; and then rolled them tightly in the palm of my hand before setting onto the baking sheet. (I got 18 large balls from 1 layer of chocolate cake.) Stick the pan of balls into the freezer for at least 20 minutes (could even be overnight, if you want) because it's much easier to dip them when they're frozen.
Melt the bark/melting wafers in the microwave (I do it for 1 minute; stir, then 30 sec. increments if necessary), and whisk in the food coloring if you're using white bark. You can either dip the balls by sticking a chopstick into the top and dipping the ball into the melted bark (letting the excess drip off), but that doesn't always work for me ~ or put the ball on top of a fork and gently lower the fork into the melted bark; raise it up and let the excess drip off. Then I slide the coated ball off back onto the waxed paper with a butter knife. You may or may not have time to draw some indentation lines on the pumpkin with a toothpick ~ depends how fast your melting bark hardens up.
Stick whatever you're using as a stem into the top of the pumpkin (you already have a hole there if you used a chopstick for dipping). (If you're using a pliable brown candy {i.e. Tootsie Roll},you can tear off little pieces, and roll them into a little log. If you're using Mini-Twist Pretzels, use each little section as a crooked stem, which is actually pretty "life-like.") Use the tube of green decorator icing to "glue" in the stem, and to pipe on a leaf or vines, as you want them.
You can set these into bon bon papers, if you want. They can even be frozen or refrigerated, in a Tupperware or Rubbermaid container.
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