Deep winter

It is mid January. This calls for a slice of salted caramel bittersweet chocolate tart.

Quick Fix

I was craving peanut butter cups. This is the easy method since i thought of making them 20 minutes earlier while easing son #2 to sleep. Melt 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Drop a teaspoon into paper cup. Top with a teaspoon of peanut butter and another teaspoon of chocolate. Freeze until hardened.

Next time i will try coconut butter and cocoa instead of the chips. That way i can regulate the sweetness better. And add a tablespoon of maple syrup if necessary.

Truffles II

Found some ganache in the freezer and decided to make some more truffles. I got the original recipe here but no need to be daunted… It’s really about rolling some ganache between your hands, dropping it in a bowl full of bittersweet chocolate (70%) and dousing it in cocoa or coconut. Easy peasy.

Truffles

They began in the evening…

(with some cream and a whole lotta bittersweet chocolate)

…and continued the next day.

In the end, we were surrounded by 60 of them. Ganache enrobed in chocolate and rolled in toasted coconut, heartnuts (a local version of walnuts), or cocoa. When I told Eily there was one made of chocolate and whipped cream, dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in chocolate, his eyes grew wide.

For 10 years, I’ve made a Christmas/Solstice/festive (sometimes New Year’s) gift for 9 of my long-time friends. A different one each time: soap, woolen wrist warmers, fridge magnets, etc….sort of a fun way to try out a new craft. This year was truffles. But when I made up a sample pack, and got out the scale and measuring tape (trusty tools for my new favourite way to ship), I was disheartened. $10 to Toronto! It even seemed to get more expensive when I made the package smaller!

So instead I sat back, popped a truffle in my mouth, and wrote an apologetic email to them all to say that this tradition is over. Traditions are great, but you have to allow yourself to break them too. Besides, my friends in town are happy to reap the rewards. Including Joyce, our letter carrier.

(As a side note, I have since learned that Canadian Postal workers get benefits, are unionized, and have good jobs. I can’t complain too much.)

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Cookies 2010

10 variaties baked, 2 disasters semi-adverted, and enough treats to last for weeks.