Oh Nuts Blog

Stuck for a last minute Valentine's Day gift for your nearest and dearest? Look no further than these Cherry-Chocolate Heart Truffles! This modern twist on traditional chocolate-covered cherries incorporates dried cherries, flavorful cherry jam, and rich chocolate in a luscious tart-and-tangy truffle filling.

Oh, and did I mention they look like a million bucks? (Because they do!) Since it's Valentine's Day, we have to get a little fancy, don't you think? To make sweets for your sweet, here's what you'll need...

Cherry-Chocolate Heart Truffles
yield: about 20 1.5-inch heart truffles, or 30 round truffles

• 1/2 cup dried sour cherries*
• 1/4 cup cherry jam
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 9 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon softened butter
• 12 ounces chocolate candy coating
• Small heart-shaped cutter
• Sprinkles, gold dust, or other decorations (optional)

*This recipe also works well with dried strawberries or dried raspberries instead of cherries!

Start by chopping the dried sour cherries into small pieces. If they are too large, it will be difficult to cut clean heart shapes out of the truffle mixture, so the smaller they are, the better.

Combine the cherry jam and the heavy cream in a small saucepan. If your jam is chunky with whole cherries, blend it briefly in a blender so that it is closer to the consistency of the cream.

Bring the cream mixture to a boil over medium heat. Take it off the heat as soon as it starts to boil.

Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate in a heat-safe bowl, and let it sit and soften the chocolate for one minute.

After one minute, begin gently whisking the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate melts completely. Due to the cherry jam, it will most likely look a little lumpy and not completely shiny and smooth--this is normal!

Add the room temperature butter to the chocolate, and whisk it in until it melts.

Finally, add the chopped dried cherries and stir them in. If you want to make regular round truffles, at this point you can cover the bowl and refrigerate it until firm, then roll the chocolate mixture into small balls. But it is Valentine's Day. We are in pursuit of looooove. We must form chocolate hearts! So....

Line an 8x8 pan with plastic wrap, pressing it all the way into the corners and trying to smooth out any wrinkles. Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan and spread it into an even layer.

Refrigerate the truffles until the chocolate mixture is firm, for about 2 hours.

Once the truffles are firm, melt the chocolate candy coating in the microwave.

Take the truffles out of the pan using the plastic wrap as handles. Pour a little of the melted coating on top, and smooth it into a very thin, even layer. You don't want a thick shell of chocolate, you're just trying to create a small ledge or "foot" that will make dipping the truffles easier.

Let the chocolate set. This won't take long, since the cold truffle will cause it to start getting firm immediately.

One the chocolate is set, flip the truffle block over so the chocolate layer is on the bottom. Use your heart cutter to cut out small truffle hearts. If at any point the truffle gets too soft to cut cleanly, refrigerate it until it is firm again. Depending on the size of your cutter and how crafty you are at maximizing space, you should get about 20 hearts from this recipe.

You will also have scraps that you cannot use. What you do with these scraps is between you and your conscience, but my personal belief is that the cook always deserves a little reward for all of their hard work!

Once all of the truffles are cut out, dip them into the melted candy coating. (Warm it up again in the microwave if it has started to get too thick.) If you want to decorate them with sprinkles, chopped nuts, or dried fruit, sprinkle the toppings on while the chocolate is still wet. Let the chocolate-cherry heart truffles set completely at room temperature.

Now for the best part: the decorations! I gave these candies vibrant metallic colors using an edible powder called luster dust. This is a common cake decorator's tool that really makes your candies pop. It is often carried by cake decorating stores and candy supply stores, so if you have a local shop call around and see if they stock it. Michael's craft stores carries a similar product, called pearl dust, made by Wilton.

Using luster dust is as simple as brushing the dry dust onto the finished candies with a small paintbrush. Luster dust and water don't mix, so be sure that your paintbrush is clean and dry. After they're painted be careful when you handle them, since the dust can rub off or become scuffed.

Store Cherry-Chocolate Heart Truffles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. For the best taste and texture, bring them to room temperature before serving them.

Give these truffles as a gift to your friends, family, loved ones, boss, mailman, probation officer, or anyone else you might want to impress this Valentine's Day! They are sure to love the cherry-chocolate truffles, and by extension, love you too.

Happy Valentine's Day!

All text and images (c) Elizabeth LaBau

You might be familiar with Seven Layer Bars. They're sometimes called Hello Dolly Bars, or Magic Bars, or maybe "those awesome things that are totally unhealthy but completely addicting and really delicious." The basic concept is a bar cookie made from a graham cracker crust, topped with various goodies like chocolate or butterscotch chips, toffee, nuts, and/or coconut, and covered with a gooey layer of sweetened condensed milk.

Because they have so many different flavors, they're really tasty, but sometimes achingly sweet and too cloying. Solution: Coconut-Ginger Seven Layer Bars.

This variation adds some much-needed tropical flavor, and some healthier additions, to the standard seven layer bar recipe. The base is made from gingersnaps, and then the layers include fruits like candied ginger, tangy dried cranberries,and coconut, nuts like pecans, and best of all, a soaking in coconut milk instead of super-sweet condensed milk. Put on your grass skirt and start practicing the hula, because you may never want to go back to regular seven layer bars again.

Coconut-Ginger Seven Layer Bars
yield: one 9x13 pan

• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 ounces (8 tablespoons, or 1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 cups (9 ounces) crushed ginger cookies like gingersnaps
• 1/4 cup candied ginger
• 2 cups toasted pecans
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1.5 cups chocolate chips
• 1.5 cups white chocolate chips
• 1.5 cups shredded coconut

One of the fundamental differences in this recipe is that it uses sweetened coconut milk instead of regular sweetened condensed milk. If you're running low on time, you can substitute 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, but if possible I urge you to give the coconut milk a try! Combine the can of coconut milk with the brown sugar in a medium saucepan.

Whisk the coconut milk and the brown sugar together, and place the pan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer it for about 10 minutes, until it becomes thick and syrupy--just like condensed milk! Stir it occasionally, but you can mostly let it bubble away while you prepare the rest of the recipe. If it's done before the rest of the bars are assembled, remove it from the heat and let it cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt the butter in the microwave, then pour it over the ginger cookie crumbs. Work the butter into the cookies with your hands (or a spoon, if you're more hygienic than I am) until it has the texture of wet sand.

Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the crumbs on the bottom of the pan and press them into a thin, even layer with your hands.

Finely chop the candied ginger. It's pretty potent, so you want it to be in small bits, evenly scattered throughout the bars, so that it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the flavors.

Next, coarsely chop the toasted pecans. If you don't like pecans, you can use walnuts or almonds. Macadamia nuts would also be a good choice and would fit in with the tropical theme!

Now for the fun part: creating our seven layers! Layer 1, the crust, is already done. Scatter the following over the crust in an even layer:

Layer 2: chocolate chips
Layer 3: white chocolate chips

Layer 4: chopped candied ginger

Layer 5: chopped toasted pecans

Layer 6: dried cranberries

Layer 7: shredded coconut

Once the coconut milk is syrupy and the bars are assembled, pour the sweetened condensed coconut milk all over the top of the bars. Try to get it in an even layer, but don't worry about covering every square inch-it will spread out as the bars bake. Some purists might say that this should constitute an eighth layer, but I don't buy that theory since it seeps into the other layers and sort of disappears in the final product. But you can call them eight layer bars if you must.

Bake the bars in the 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, until the coconut is mostly golden brown on top and they're set and bubbling around the edges. They will smell fantastic, and you will be tempted to cut into them right away. Resist! They need time to chill and set, otherwise they will completely fall apart. Cool the bars at room temperature, then let them set in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until firm enough to lift out and cut.

Cut the bars into small squares. Even with all of the fruit and nuts, they're very rich and chocolatey, so a little goes a long way.

These bars keep very well. Store your Coconut-Ginger Seven Layer Bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for several months. Happy eating, and much aloha!

All text and images (c) Elizabeth LaBau