truffles

The holiday events and duties are coming thick and fast and I've been stuffing my face in a frantic effort to sustain myself during all this jollity (see below). The photos above and at the bottom are from number two son's concert last night (that's him playing his trombone). Number one son has already treated us to three concerts in the past month.

I'm a first-class Martha Stewart drop-out, but I do love to bake at Christmas. There's shortbread dipped in white chocolate:

Cranberry lemon pound cake:

But my all-time favourite are chocolate-raspberry truffles:

They could be more attractive, but I figure it's only their ugliness that keeps them alive after the first day. Survival of the fittest and all. Here's the super easy recipe:

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TRUFFLES

8 oz (250 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter, softened
1/3 cup (75 mL) each whipping cream and good quality raspberry jam
3 tbsp (50 mL) cocoa powder

In food processor (I use my old blender) process chocolate until finely chopped (or chop by hand). Place in bowl; add butter. In small saucepan, combine whipping cream and jam; bring to boil, stirring well. Pour mixture through sieve over chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Place in freezer, stirring occasionally until thickened (25-30 min). Drop by small spoonfuls onto baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Place in freezer until firm, about 15 min. Shape into balls; roll in cocoa powder until well coated. Store in refrigerator, in covered container, for up to 1 week.

Finally, I was tempted to do the Christmas meme that's been going around, but in the end the only part I think is worth sharing is my favourite Christmas song, Christmas Time Is Here, from A Charlie Brown Christmas (Vince Guaraldi Trio).

Well, that was exhausting. Time to get a truffle before I pass out from over-exertion.