by Mlissa | Jul 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
Yep…its Brandy again. this time around I wanted to post a couple of the winners from recent blog tours.
Guest Posts
Tammy Ramey
wins choice of 5 Ways ‘Til Sunday or pick up Samhain backlist book from Delilah Devlin
(winner information has been forwarded to Delilah)
Lissa’s Truffle Tour
Liany83
wins pdf of Melting Jane
from RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk stop
~~~
Sarah
wins pdf of Melting Jane
from Loose Knickers & Window Lickers
~~~
Laura T
wins pdf of Melting Jane and a copy of The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook
from All I Want and More
~~~
The stops at Fictional Candy, Day Dreaming and Reading Between the Wines will be announced later.
I’ll be getting in touch with Lissa’s winners so make sure you check your inboxes (or spam) for an email from me.
Have a great one…..B
by Mlissa | Jul 17, 2012 | Melting Jane
Brandy here. Just popping in for a few minutes.
I’m sure you’ll remember that Lissa had a blog tour recently. A sinfully sweet, truffle filled blog tour. If you missed it you need to go check it out. The giveaways are closed but you can still get the recipes for the fabulous truffles she featured. There was a different one for each blog.
Dessert Tour for Melting Jane
Now that you know where to get the goodness for truffle making make sure you pick up a copy of Melting Jane featuring a truffle making heroine and a well traveled, sexy younger man.
I’ll be back soon with the winners from the Truffle Tour…..B
by Mlissa | Apr 5, 2012 | In the kitchen with...
Jane is the resident candy maker around here. She makes truffles. Dark chocolate truffles infused with peppers. She was looking for a hobby when she signed up for a candy making class, but ended up with a new best friend, Edward, and a new business.
You might remember Jane. Her book was called Sugar Rush. She had a really hot affair with a really hot Cowboy Surfer by the name of Graham. Well, the title has been changed back to its original, Melting Jane and it’s being revised for re-release.
Being that it’s the week of Easter, and being that I’ve been working on Jane’s book this week, she kind of put it into my head that we should share a truffle recipe with you. But, I’m going to do one better and share two.
First, Chocolate Chili Almond Truffles from The Spice House
Ingredients
1 Pound Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
2 Tablespoons Unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Corn syrup
1 teaspoon Arrowroot
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons New Mexican Chili Powder
1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
1/2 Cup Heavy whipping Cream
4 Tablespoons Dutch Cocoa Powder
1/4 Cup Toasted almonds
Serves / Yields
about 3 dozen truffles
Preparation Instructions
Take 9 ounces of the chocolate and chop it into small pieces. Place in a bowl with the butter, corn syrup, arrowroot, baking soda, chili powder and extract. In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil, and slowly pour over the chocolate mixture, stirring constantly until all the chocolate has melted and is smooth. Chill the chocolate overnight (or in the freezer for a few hours) until it is the consistency of a thick frosting.
Cut the remaining chocolate into small pieces and melt it over a double boiler. While this is melting, scoop the refrigerated chocolate mixture into little balls and roll until even. Quickly dip the balls into the melted chocolate to coat, and return to the refrigerator.
Place the dutched cocoa and almonds in a food processor and pulse together until blended. Remove truffles from the fridge and roll in the cocoa-almond mix.
Helpful Hints
Chocolate melts if manhandled too much, so if it’s taking a long time to prepare, work with only part chocolate at a time. Keep the remainder cold in the fridge.
(I love chili spiced truffles. They are rich and the kick of chili… Delicious!)
I think sometimes I view the chili truffles as a grown up candy, so I thought I’d sneak in a yummy truffle treat you could make for anyone. It’s easy and oh my goodness… They are so good. My daughter and her friends made two batches of these a couple of weeks ago and sold them all. With the profits, they all went to the zoo. Loved their ingenuity!
Second, Easy Oreo Truffles from Kraft Recipes
What You Need
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg. (15.5 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 4-1/4 cups), divided
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
Make It
MIX cream cheese and 3 cups cookie crumbs until well blended.
SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.
Kraft Kitchens Tips
How to Melt Chocolate: Place unwrapped chocolate squares in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2-1/2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted, stirring every 30 sec.
How to Easily Dip Truffles: To easily coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Use 2 forks to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove truffles with forks, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. Place truffles on prepared baking sheet; let stand until firm.
How to Store: Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.
Give some thought to homemade candy for Easter this year. I am… And be on the look out for Melting Jane’s cover and re-release in the next few weeks.
~lissa
P.S. Don’t tell Jane I shared another truffle with you. She might get a bit peeved… 😉
