Chocolate Espresso Sambuca Truffles Recipe Epicuriouscom

Steps:

• Stir first 3 ingredients in top of double boiler set over simmering water until smooth. Remove from over water. Whisk in Kahlúa. Cool 15 minutes. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
• Line baking sheet with foil. Place cocoa powder on plate. Scoop chocolate mixture by very generously mounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheet, forming 1-inch mounds. Dust hands with cocoa powder; roll mounds between palms, forming smooth balls, then roll in cocoa powder to coat lightly. Return to sheet. Cover with foil; chill truffles until firm, at least 2 hours. (Can be made ahead. Chill in covered container up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.) Let stand at room temperature until slightly softened before serving.

Steps:

• Chop the chocolate and put in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream, butter and salt to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat; pour over the chocolate and let sit until completely melted, about 10 minutes. Stir with a rubber spatula or whisk until smooth. (If necessary, microwave in 20-second intervals until the chocolate melts.)
• Whisk in the vanilla extract, then the espresso. Stir until the ganache is smooth and shiny. Pour into a shallow baking dish and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Roll tablespoonfuls of the ganache into 18 to 24 balls, then roll in crushed toffee bars. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight. (To make these in advance, roll into balls but do not coat; cover and freeze up to 2 weeks. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before uncovering, then roll in coating.)

Steps:

• Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water. Set the extract aside to cool to lukewarm or room temperature.
• Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it, together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed, until well blended.
• Mix in the vanilla and espresso extract on low speed. Turn off the mixer, add the flour all at once and pulse to begin incorporating it, then mix on low speed until the flour almost disappears into the dough. Scrape down the bowl, add the chopped chocolate and mix until evenly distributed. Give the dough a few last turns with a sturdy flexible spatula.
• Turn the dough out onto the counter and divide it in half. Shape each half into a disk. Working with one piece of dough at a time, sandwich it between pieces of parchment paper and roll it to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Slide the dough, still sandwiched, onto a baking sheet-you can stack the slabs-and freeze the dough for at least 1 hour, or refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Getting ready to bake:
• Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 325ºF. Butter or spray a regular muffin tin, or two tins, if you've got them. Have a 2-inch-diameter cookie cutter at hand.
• Working with one sheet of dough at a time, peel away both pieces of paper and put the dough back on one piece of paper. Cut the dough and drop the rounds into the muffin tin(s).
• The dough might not fill the molds completely, but it will once baked. Save the scraps from both pieces of dough, then gather them together, re-roll, chill and cut.
• Bake the cookies for 18 to 20 minutes, or until they feel firm to the touch and have some color. Transfer the muffin tin(s) to a rack and leave the cookies in the tin(s) for about 10 minutes before carefully lifting them out onto the rack to cool completely.
• Continue with the remainder of the dough, if you only baked one sheet, always using cool tins.
• Playing Around
• For Ringed Espresso-Chocolate Sablés: If you have 2-inch baking rings, use them to cut out the rolled dough. Bake the dough-in the rings-on lined baking sheets just as you would the muffin-tin cookies. Leave the rings in place for at least 20 minutes before lifting them off, rinsing and reusing.

Steps:

• In a double boiler or in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt chocolate and butter with cream and espresso, stirring until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and stir in liqueur. Cool mixture and chill, covered, at least 3 hours, or until firm.
• Form rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls and roll balls in cocoa powder, coating them. Truffles keep, layered between sheets of wax paper and chilled, in airtight containers 2 weeks.