Chocolate Truffle Cookies

The word truffle holds some empowering force over me and my mind immediately jump to decadent chocolate. I always associated truffles with heavy cream, sugar, butter, and well, things that expand the waistline. Having taking a hiatus from baking (and having left Australia), I wanted to start the holidays off with something blissfully bad to the bone.

I was flipping through my “The Cookie and Biscuit Bible” when I came upon their Chocolate Truffle Cookies recipe. I almost skipped it, since I have less than half a stick of butter in my fridge but I realized that this recipe has minimal butter! In fact, it’s not so bad, that is, if you make really mini bites and share. I guess it’s the sugar that really gets you here.

So what exactly is a truffle? Most people think about Lindt Truffles and if you’re high class, you’re probably thinking about the fungus truffle. Well, the chocolate truffle was actually named after the fungus truffle due to their similar looks. But beyond that, chocolate truffles have a chocolate ganache center coated with even more chocolate. Don’t tell me that doesn’t make your knees quake.

The following recipe, thought not exactly a chocolate truffle per se, is a lovely reminder of what  confectionaries crank out in their factories but in the comfort of your home. There’s also something comforting about a recipe that is converted into a cookie form. So as you bake, take a deep breath of all that chocolately goodness that comes wafting out of the oven. The best part is- it’s only a 10 minute bake.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies (18 pieces)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, diced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp cherry brandy or fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup icing (confectioners’) sugar

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and sugar into a bowl.
3. Rub in the butter with your fingers under the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
4. Add in the beaten egg and cherry brandy or fresh orange juice. Stir into the dry mixture.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes
6. After 30 minutes, form the dough into small circles (1 inch in diameter) using your hand. Roll to cover the surface in the icing sugar.
7. Bake for 10 minutes and cool!

Side Notes:

• I didn’t have cherry brandy or fresh orange juice so I used plum wine. Since it’s only 1 tsp, unless if you have a strong and eager palate, you can’t quite taste it. I’m sure that any type of juice or liquor would work (that being said, with good judgement).

You should also check out:

1. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
2. Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie-Cakes
4. Chocolate dipped orange biscotti
5. Chocolate dipped almond biscotti