Almond and Chocolate Truffles

What a perfect treat to enjoy after your dinner!
These delicious bite-sized almond and chocolate truffles can be served as a snack, or after dinner with some coffee or tea, or even a glass of sweet wine, such as Porto. It would also be a hit for your Christmas dinner.

The following quantities are for about 72 truffles (about 1.5 centimeter diameter), so feel free to adjust them if you are baking for more or fewer people.

You will need:

• 185 grams of ladyfingers biscuits
• 185 grams of almond powder
• 110 grams of sugar
• 3 tablespoon of chocolate powder or shredded chocolate
• 5 tablespoons of milk
• 2 tablespoons of brown spiced rum
• 25 grams of bitter dark chocolate powder

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Resting time: At least 2 hours in the fridge (you can leave them longer if you want to prepare them beforehand)

Start by crushing the ladyfingers biscuits.

You can do so in a bowl.

Or in a plastic sealed bag with a rolling pin.

Or directly in a bowl with a rolling pin.

You should obtain a fine powder as shown below.

Add the almond powder, the sugar, and the 3 tablespoons of chocolate powder to the crushed ladyfingers, and mix.

Warm up the milk.

Make a well in your dry mix, and add the warmed milk and the rum to the preparation.

Then, mix until you obtain a moist, compact batter.

Spread your bitter dark chocolate on a plate.

Take a chunk of the batter and roll it between your palms to form a small bite-sized ball. Repeat the process with all of the batter.

Then, roll the small balls onto the bitter dark chocolate powder. Shake them to get rid of the chocolate powder excess.

Place them on a sheet of parchment paper on a tray, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Note: You can keep these individual bite-sized almond and chocolate truffles for a few days as long as they are in a properly sealed container.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Ham Amuse-Bouches

Having guests over doesn't always mean you have to spend your whole day in the kitchen, or even break the bank. This amuse-bouches recipe is the perfect example of a quick, easy, and inexpensive appetizer.
This recipe is as simple as it gets: really easy and it takes only few minutes to make (and half an hour to sit in the fridge before serving).

These bite-sized appetizers, made with rolled ham filled with garlic & herbs spread, are delicious and quite light too, so it will leave room to enjoy the coming meal ...

But, let me share few tips with you before starting:

• When buying your ham, make sure the slices are one to two millimiters thick, so it doesn't tear apart when you spread the cheese.
• Get your spread out of the fridge at least half an hour before starting, so it will be smooth and soft enough to spread.

To make this recipe, you will need:

• Some ham
• Some garlic & herbs spread*
• Some foil

To calculate your quantities, you can count on making eight bites per slice of ham. Based on this assumption, the last time I made this appetizer for five people, I bought six slices of ham and a  250-gram container of garlic & herbs spread.


Place your slice of ham on a plate or cutting board ...

... and spread the garlic & herbs spread with a butter knife on the ham.

Roll your slice of ham.

Cover it completely with foil and close it.

Place in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Just before serving, remove the foil ...

... and cut your slices of ham in eight bites (don't make too small bites, because it will become messy and won't make nice bite-sized cuts).

Serve (with toothpicks) and enjoy!

*Tip: You can find this spread already made at the supermarket, by Philadelphia®, Tartare® or Boursin®, or you can make it yourself by using a plain spread, adding chopped garlic and parsley (and any other herbs you are fond of) and mix them in a blender.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped by Charline Leblond