These are for hubby. Sshhh… don’t tell him!

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They are also my first foray into the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. The theme for December, as presented by 84th & 3rd is Truffles, and although my first thought when I heard that word was ‘round balls covered in chocolate’, JJ’s example recipe was nothing like it! So I figured there was some poetic license, and determined that this was the perfect opportunity to tackle making hubby’s Christmas present.

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When it comes to giving him sweet treats for Christmas, it’s a case of either go to the shopping centre, line up at a certain fruit and nut store, buy a bag of nuts and increase that company’s profit margin for the month… or make them myself. I choose to make them myself. There’s more love in it! There’s also the chance to use Fair Trade chocolate, which is something I’ve been trying to do more of lately, as the issue has been preached on recently at our church.

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The only trouble was working out the recipe. You’ll be relieved to know that I’ve done my research, made some trial versions, and landed on these as about near to perfect as they can get. The original recipe asked for blanched almonds, but I’ve gone with slivered (which are also blanched). And if I was making these for myself, I’d totally use 70% dark chocolate, but hubby loves milk chocolate, so milk chocolate it is!

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I’ve also added honey to the mix. You wouldn’t think chocolate truffles needed honey, would you? Surely they’re sweet enough already? And yet it lends a chewiness to the texture that hubby enjoys, so it’s there to stay. And with honey as an ingredient, these were easy to roll into balls. Without it, they would almost certainly be dropped onto a tray and called clusters. As it  is, these are rough, spiky like echidnas, and have thereby earned themselves the moniker ‘rustic’.

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Apricot and Almond Rustic Truffles
Adapted from Just a Pinch

Makes about 28

Ingredients
250g (8 oz) Cadbury Fair Trade Dairy Milk chocolate, broken into pieces
4 Tbsp honey
1 1/3 cup (200g) dried apricots, diced
1 cup (120g) slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Directions
To toast the almonds, spread them out in a shallow baking tray, and bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Place the chocolate and honey in a bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the apricots and almonds.
Roll teaspoonfuls into balls and place into mini-muffins papers. Set on a flat tray and place in the refrigerator to set for 2- 4 hours, or until firm.

For more heavenly holiday truffles, hop along to 84th & 3rd to see what other sweet adventurers have posted!

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