Hello, loyal readers! Long time no see, I know. I’ve had this recipe on the list since the holidays, but once I got back to work in January, I was sent to [redacted] to steal [redacted] back from [redacted], so I haven’t had the time to write it up for the site.

These mint chocolate chip truffles are made with white chocolate and peppermint extract, with miniature chocolate chips and a chocolate coating to really bring together the classic mint chocolate chip flavor. The green food coloring isn’t necessary, but at least psychologically these candies probably wouldn’t taste the same without it. They make a cool ice-creamy treat in the summer and a crisp and thematic one in the winter–a good year-round sort of candy. They take a day or two to make properly, but it’s well worth the wait.

Harry and I made these treats to eat over the holidays. We were all at Frodo’s place to celebrate Christmas just like we used to at the bomb factory–although not at the bomb factory itself, since we’re not allowed back in the building since we all left. Ingredients were a bit hard for us to get our hands on, and the exactness of the recipe made it difficult to use substitutions of any sort. It was always a good day when the monthly food deliveries included mini chocolate chips, or the factory warden would bring back peppermint extract, and we could put together these chocolates. Harry and Frodo could hardly wait the day or so it took the chocolates to set and dry, but we always made sure they’d leave them untouched long enough to be finished. They never fail to be worth the wait–these candies are delectably minty and sweet, a delicious treat for any occasion.

How to make No-Time-To-Die-For Mint Chocolate Chip Truffles:

To start with, pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan over medium heat and bring it to just a boil. While this is happening, you’ll want to chop your white chocolate if you haven’t already.

Once the cream is boiling, you can remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped white chocolate and salt to the mixture, whisking until the chocolate melts–the warm cream will take care of that–and forms a thick mixture.

Next, whisk in the unsalted butter–you’re going to want it at room temperature, so make sure to set it out for an hour or so before you start the recipe. It should melt into the ganache mixture, loosening it up and making it smooth and shiny.

Whisk in the green food coloring, a drop at a time, until you get the green shade you want. (I suppose you could add other colors if you wanted, but it wouldn’t taste the same without the minty green everyone has come to expect.)

Different brands of peppermint extract often have different levels of flavour, so you’re going to want to add only 1/2 a teaspoon of extract to the ganache to start with. Taste the ganache to see if the peppermint is strong enough; you can add up to 1/2 a teaspoon more of the extract to taste.

Pour the ganache into a medium-sized bowl, and press plastic wrap on the top of the ganache. Allow it to cool to room temperature–this may take an hour or so.

Once the ganache is at room temperature, it will be cool enough to stir in the mini chocolate chips without them melting.

After adding the chips, refrigerate the mixture until it is firm enough to scoop and roll–this will take about 2 hours. Using a small 1-inch candy scoop (or just a spoon, if you don’t have one), roll the ganache into balls. Dust your hands with powdered sugar so they don’t get sticky and roll the balls between your hands to smooth them into more perfect spheres.

Then you’ll have to let the truffles sit out at cool room temperature overnight so the ganache can set before dipping them in chocolate–don’t worry, it’s worth the wait.

Using dipping tools (or another spoon, if you don’t have any), dip the truffles in the candy coating. If you know how to temper chocolate, you can use the same quantity of tempered chocolate, but it’s a complicated enough procedure that I don’t want to get into it right now (maybe in another post). Candy coating is quicker and tastes just fine, but melting regular chocolate without tempering it could affect the quality and flavour of the chocolate.

Let your truffles sit until the chocolate has set completely–then enjoy!

A note on the chocolate:

A pound of melted chocolate is often a bit too much for all the truffles. While it’s definitely safer to err on the side of too much chocolate, you are perfectly welcome to experiment with melting less at a time if you don’t want to have a bunch of excess chocolate left over.

Harry and I melted the full pound of chocolate, so we had a lot left over. We were just going to pour it out in a lump and let it solidify into a chunk of chocolate, but Frodo came over and suggested dipping other things in it to make more chocolate creations. They went all over the kitchen finding things to dip in chocolate, and they eventually rounded up a bunch of treats–graham crackers, peppermint sticks, walnuts, and chocolate-peppermint candies. Harry may have had more fun dipping things in chocolate than he did making the truffles.

Ingredients:

• 2 2/3 ounces or 1/2 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
• 12 ounces (336 g) white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces or 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 or 2 drops green food coloring
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 1/2 ounces or 1/2 cup (98 g) miniature chocolate chips
• Powdered sugar, for dusting
• 1 pound (454 g) candy coating (or tempered chocolate), melted, for dipping

Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring it just to a boil. Once boiling, remove the pan from the heat and add the white chocolate to the saucepan, along with the salt. Whisk until the heat from the pan and cream melt the chocolate. The mixture will be very thick. Add the room temperature butter and whisk until the ganache loosens up and is smooth and shiny. Whisk in the green food coloring a drop at a time until you get a light mint color you like.
Add ½ teaspoon of the peppermint extract to the ganache, and taste it to see if the mint flavor is strong enough. Different brands of extract can vary greatly in strength, so it’s best to start flavoring conservatively. If you desire a stronger mint flavor, add up to a ½ teaspoon more of the peppermint extract and whisk it in. Pour the ganache into a medium bowl, press a layer of plastic wrap on top of the ganache, and let it cool completely to room temperature.
Once at room temperature, stir in the miniature chocolate chips and refrigerate the ganache until it is firm enough to scoop and roll, about 2 hours. Use a small 1-inch (2.5-cm) candy scoop to form balls of ganache and place them on a sheet of parchment. Dust your hands with a light layer of powdered sugar and roll the balls between your palms to get them perfectly round. Let the truffles sit at cool room temperature overnight to dry and set the ganache.
Using dipping tools, dip the truffles in the candy coating. Let the coating set completely.
Store Mint Chocolate Chip Truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, and let them come to room temperature completely before serving.