How I Managed to Make Peppermint Truffles

I really love peppermint and dark chocolate together. When I was a kid, my grandma made this peppermint ice cream dessert at Christmas, and that's probably what started my love of this flavor combination. We called this Christmas-time dessert "pink dessert," and it consists of chocolate-covered rice crispies and peppermint ice cream. She would laugh and laugh about how much we all liked it saying "it's such a simple recipe."

As soon as Starbucks transitions from Pumpkin Spice Lattes to Peppermint Mochas, I become a frequent customer. I can't get enough! This flavor combination reminds me of Christmas at my grandparents' farm with my dad's family. But it's also plain old super-delicious!

My sister pinned a recipe for four ingredient peppermint truffles, and it caught my attention. You can find the recipe at http://houseofyumm.com/peppermint-truffles/. So earlier this week, I thought I'd try making them. The recipe promised to be easy, and I had some time.

However, as this was my first attempt at making any kind of truffles, I ran into some problems. At first, the middle of the truffle (the ganache) was way too hard. There was no way I was going to be able to scoop it and make little peppermint balls. And I also thought it needed more peppermint. A lot more peppermint. So I added more heavy cream and more peppermint extract. Then the ganache was not firm enough. Ugh. So I added more white chocolate. Finally, I had the right consistency!

I borrowed a melon baller from my mom, which made the truffles just the right size. Also, since these truffles are supposed to be kept in the refrigerator, I didn't want the chocolate to turn white like it does when it has been heated and then refrigerated. That meant added coconut oil - a staple in my pantry.

Here's the 5-ingredient recipe I ended up with for Peppermint Truffles:

• 4 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 10 ounces white chocolate chips (weigh it - it's about 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (dark chocolate would also be really good)
• 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil

1. Using a double boiler, melt the white chocolate chips. Add the peppermint extract and heavy cream. Stir until all chips are melted and ingredients are combined.
2. Transfer peppermint ganache to a bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.
3. Remove the ganache from the fridge.
4. Melt the semisweet or dark chocolate chips in a double boiler. Add the coconut oil and mix well.
5. Scoop one truffle center at a time and dip into the melted chocolate. Place the chocolate-covered peppermint ball onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Once all the peppermint ganache has been used and dipped, put cookie sheet back into the fridge until the chocolate has hardened.
6. Transfer the truffles to a sealed container and store in the refrigerator.

I got 16 truffles from this recipe, but the first two I made were quite big. I'd think you would end up with between 16 and 18, depending on how big your balls are. Let me know if you make them!

Community Service Ideas: Bandages, Spice Bundles, Activity Packages, and Meals

For the four Wednesdays leading up to Christmas, I planned community service projects for our confirmation (6th-8th grade) students to do. Community service is a big part of our confirmation program, so I was really excited to plan a series of service projects for our youth to complete during Advent. Since we have four weeks, I came up with four service projects: rolling bandages, making spice bundles, crayon/colored pencils and activity book packages, and making a meal.

Bandages: I decided that the first week, our group (55 kids plus 20 adults) would work together to roll bandages for Global Health Ministries (GHM). Our group tore white bed sheets into strips and then rolled the strips into bandages. Once they were rolled, we used a little masking tape to secure them. In about 30 minutes, our group rolled 128 bandages! The bandages will be sent to GHM, which will then send them around the world. I got great feedback from the adults and kids that this was a great community service project!

Youth and adults work together on a community service project to roll bandages.

On the second, third, and fourth weeks, the youth will work together by grade level to complete the other three community service projects, switching to a new project each week. By the time our weeks are done, we will put together 150 spice bundles, 150 activity packages, and 60 meals! That's in addition to the 128 bandages we did the first week. Amazing!

Homemade Taco Seasoning ingredients

Spice Bundles: This is my favorite of the four projects! I have always had a heart for hunger and homelessness issues, and this community service project addresses the issue of hunger a little bit. In talking with our local food pantry executive director, I realized that the people who use the pantry need some help learning how to cook with the items available. We also know that when money for groceries is limited, people are not likely to use their money to purchase herbs and spices. So, combining these issues, I came up with the idea to create a spice bundle that would include two simple recipes - Tacos and Chili - that use the provided spices. I bought treat bags from a party store and the four necessary spices (chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, oregano) from the grocery store. The kids put one of each of the spices into the treat bags and attached the recipe card. A simple project that serves our local community!

A completed spice bundle

Activity Packages: I got in touch with our local children's hospital and found out that they need crayons and colored pencils. When I heard that, I suggested that we also make activity books. So, our confirmation students donated crayons and colored pencils, and I created an activity book. For this project, our kids are making 4-packs of crayons or colored pencils and putting the activity books together, which means cutting the pages in half and then stapling the pages together. A nurse from our congregation who works at the children's hospital will deliver the crayons/colored pencils and activity books just before Christmas. This service project is quite simple, but these gifts will be so appreciated by the kids who receive them.


Meals: One of the ministries at our church is called Grace Meals. This ministry provides frozen meals to people who would appreciate the gift of a prepared meal. Anyone from our congregation can come and ask for one of the meals to give to a friend. They are often given to people after surgery or the birth of a baby. But they can really be given to anyone. Our youth were able to learn some new skills (like cutting onions and sautéing onions, peppers, and garlic), work together to put a meal together, and serve our church community.