Ginger and Rye Truffles

This is a sponsored post written by me on half of Templeton Rye and Simply Organic on behalf of The Baddish Group. All opinions are my own.

My grandparents have a turntable cabinet in their kitchen, and I was fascinated by it when I was little. It's where they kept boxes of cereal, snacks...and liquor bottles. I didn't really think anything of it, but it gives me a good giggle now. I suppose we use our space the best we know how.

The liquor bottles always stayed in the same spot (that I knew of) until the holidays rolled around, then they were pulled out and set on the counter with a big bottle of gingerale. I know now that those were bottles of whiskey.

On the other side of the counter were plates and extra tins full of chocolates, candies, and cookies that my grandma had made all week long. The family would gather at my grandparent's house, chocolate and whiskey-ginger cocktails in the appropriate hands as the day wore on.

Thirty years later, I'm now one of the adults. I have a homemade chocolate in one hand and a whiskey drink in the other. So, things sort of just clicked when I found myself staring at a bottle of Templeton Rye and a jar of Simply Organic ground ginger that had arrived at my door. Memories of holidays through the years flooded my senses. I could see my grandma rolling balls of rich chocolate ganache in her palms. I remembered my grandpa pouring whiskey and gingerale over ice in small glass tumblers.

Templeton wasn't the brand that sat (and still sits) in my grandparent's turntable cabinet. But its spiciness and notes of dried fruit seemed right at home with the deep heat of the ginger. I went for the gusto by adding some finely chopped crystallized ginger—and it totally worked. The little sweet bits add both a depth of flavor and a hint of brightness at the same time.

For me, these truffles are like memories bursting open in my mouth. Your memories may not be exactly the same as mine, but I bet these boozy little chocolates would be a welcome addition to any holiday cookie and candy plate.

Ginger and Rye Truffles

Chocolate truffles infused with rye whiskey and two kinds of ginger.

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 3 hours (largely unattended)

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: dessert vegetarian soy-free nut-free alcohol chocolate ginger whisk(e)y Christmas candy

Ingredients (2 dozen)

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons (1.5 fluid ounces) Rye Whiskey (such as Templeton)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup very finely chopped candied ginger, optional

to finish:

• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
OR
• 1 pound chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet, or milk)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger

Instructions

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized bowl. Add the rye and ground ginger to the bowl, then set aside.

Place the heavy cream and butter in a small pot. Bring to a boil over gentle heat, watching it the whole time, as it can boil over quickly. As soon as it's bubbled for a few seconds, take it off the heat and pour it over the chocolate in the bowl you set aside. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Whisk everything together until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 90 minutes.

Use a hand mixer to whip for about 10 seconds (until just fluffy). Cover the bowl again and place in the freezer until the mixture is firm, at least 90 minutes or so. (You could also skip the whipping and just scoop the ganache into balls now. Whipping it gives a fluffier texture - just be careful not to overwhip it, or you'll have chocolate butter balls instead of truffles.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop individual portions onto the prepared sheet. Dip the scoop in hot water when the mixture starts to stick (probably between each couple of scoops). If you the scoops like nice, you can leave them as-is, or you can roll each portion into a ball and then return to the freezer for 1 hour.

Remove from freezer and finish by either:

a) sifting cocoa powder and ground ginger together in a small bowl, then rolling balls in it.

b) dipping each ball into tempered, melted chocolate and immediately sprinkling with candied ginger. Place back on lined tray and allow shell to harden.

Store in a single layer (divide with sheets of parchment or wax paper if you want to stack them) at a cool room temperature for about 5 days.

I thought it was worth mentioning that both the cocoa and ginger-rolled truffles and the dipped truffles were amazing in their own rite. I didn't dip many, but that's because it was more of an afterthought. Next time I'll make two batches, one each way.