Salted Caramel Mocha Truffles

So, despite the title of this blog, I don’t post a whole lot of sweets these days. Because I don’t bake nearly as much as I used to. However, I still love to bake and make cute little treats for any occasion that comes around, so when one of my besties wanted me to make the desserts for her wedding, I was thrilled!! The original dessert menu consisted of 100 vanilla cake balls with a coral coating, 100 mini lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting, a small cake (think top of a traditional wedding cake) and 100 of these…salted caramel mocha truffles. You guys. Seriously.

 

Not only were they freaking delicious, but they were a breeze to make and they are so cute! Cake balls are delicious, but they are kind of a pain in the rump and rarely come out looking good when I make them. We ended up nixing the cake balls and her mom made cannoli cups (YUM!) in their place. A much better choice, if you ask me. We did a trial run of all the minis at her bridal shower a couple of weeks before the wedding – see?

One great thing about a trial run is figuring out better ways to decorate. The caramel drizzle, for example, I found out was a bit harder to do with a spoon. Well, harder to do and make it look pretty, anyway. So, I decided that when I made the wedding batch, I would put the caramel in a squeeze bottle and drizzle it that way. Muuuuch better, IMO! Truffles have now surpassed cake balls, for me, as cute, fun mini desserts to make. Mostly because they are much easier to coat with chocolate since they get hard, and stay hard long enough to coat, in the fridge but are plenty soft when it’s time to eat them! Don’t just take my word for it…you need to try for yourself!!

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp coffee extract (use vanilla if you can’t find coffee)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp instant coffee
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s)
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 8 oz white melting chocolate (CandiQuik)
• 1/4 cup caramel baking bits
• 2 tsp water
• sea salt

Preparation

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or other bowl if using a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until creamy. Add the extract and salt and beat again.
2. Meanwhile, combine the instant coffee and milk and stir until dissolved. Pour the milk into the butter mixture alternately with the cocoa powder and flour. Mix until everything is combined.
3. Roll the cookie dough into ~36 balls and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or foil. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until hard.
4. Melt the white chocolate according to the package directions. Use a spoon to dip and coat each truffle. Tap off the excess chocolate and carefully “drop” on wax paper to set. (I use a toothpick to gently push the balls off the spoon.)
5. While the coated truffles are setting up (hardening), place the caramel bits and water in a small sauce pan. Heat on medium, stirring until melted and creamy. Let cool for a minute or two. This is when I poured the caramel from the saucepan into a squeeze bottle and drizzled over the truffles, then sprinkle sea salt over the tops.
6. Store in a sealed container for 2-3 days or refrigerate for longer storage.