Chubby Hubby Truffles

Welcome to Day 8 of Baking Extravaganza! Possibly the best and most awesome of the entries, because seriously – Truffles! And because it’s so awesome, it also had to come after Christmas. Whoops, my bad. Next time I’ll start this experiment at the beginning of the month instead of the middle. Even if you think you’re stuffed full of sweets after the holiday and couldn’t possibly eat another item of sugar, you’re wrong. For these, you’re dead wrong.

Does anyone else remember the first time they had Chubby Hubby ice cream? My strongest memory of the time was sheer awe that someone was smart enough to combine so many wonderful things in such a small container. I honestly think that person deserves some sort of recognition. While I searched the internet high and low to figure out who exactly invented the flavor, it let me down miserably. So all I can say is – thank you Ben and Jerry for bringing us such amazingness in a carton.

Clearly, when I saw that someone figured out how to make chubby hubby truffles, well what more did I need? Forget that I’d never made a truffle before in my life – clearly if I made these for my coworkers’ Christmas plates, I’d be the hit of the day. And let me tell you, it was a glorious day.

I hope everyone has a happy New Year! I'll be back in 2012 with even more recipes - so keep an eye out. 

 And for a special "behind the blog" view, this is what I had for lunch after making these:

 (Taste testing is important!)

Chubby Hubby Truffles

From Brown Eyed Baker 

You can keep these in your fridge in an airtight container for up to a week after they’ve been made. Just try to keep the exposure to air at a minumum and they’ll be fine. For extra adorableness, use mini-cupcake liners for each truffle.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cup pretzel pieces

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (or butter)

Equipment:

Bowl, wax paper, cookie sheet

Crush pretzel pieces into small bits – the easiest way to do this is to place into a resealable plastic bag and small away, either with a rolling pin or a jar full of dried lentils (guess which one I did?). In your bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, and salt and stir until all ingredients are completely blended and smooth.  Add pretzel pieces to the mixture and stir well. Add powdered sugar and mix until combined.

Line your baking sheet with wax paper. Use about 2 teaspoons worth of the filling to shape into a ball using your fingertips. Place ball on wax paper and continue until filling is gone. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Microwave chocolate and shortening (or butter) together in a small bowl in 30-second increments until melted and smooth. Working one at a time, dip one peanut-butter pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and roll until completely coated. Let excess drip off and place back on wax paper. Continue until you’ve covered all the truffles. Chill another 30 minutes at least. Garnish with melted peanut butter and pretzel bits if you’d like. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat them!

Makes approximately 18 truffles