Pistachio Crunch Truffles with Strawberry Sugar Dust

I apologize for this post being a day late.

The Etsy Giveaway winner is announced at the end of this post!

So, I have a bit of an update: I quit my job on Tuesday. What does this mean for me? Not dealing with crazy people! What does this me for you? More baking/cooking from me! Baking for my blog and Etsy shop is now going to me my full-time job :). I’m extremely excited about it, and I hope it goes well!

On to the food! After this recipe, it should be pretty apparent to you all that I am positively smitten with Christina Tosi’s Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook. One of her staples that I love is her nut crunches, particularly the Pistachio Crunch. I had been snacking on it plain for a few days, when I finally decided I should probably find a recipe to deploy it into. I considered mixing it into a buttercream, but I thought that the texture wouldn’t hold up too well. One thing I’ve always wanted to try doing, is tempering chocolate, so I figured, why not put it inside of truffles? Killing two birds with one stone right there ;)!

These truffles are totally decadent. The crunchy pistachio center, paired with the ultra creamy ganache and the hard shell of outer chocolate is absolutely divine. I’ve always enjoyed the pairing of pistachios and strawberries, so I decided to dust some strawberry sugar over the tops of the truffles. It’s a subtle flavor, but quite delicious. I especially like that it’s a true strawberry flavor as it is comprised of real, freeze-dried strawberries, with no artificial flavorings.

While these truffles are pretty messy to make, it’s totally worth it for the end result. However, for all the work I put into attempting to temper the chocolate, it didn’t completely work out. You can see how streaky the chocolate covering my truffles is; that’s a sign of incorrectly tempered chocolate:

I think my chocolate was throwing a temper tantrum, hahaha (I love play-on-words humor; I apologize). I’ve put the directions for how to temper the chocolate below (please tell me about your experience trying it!), but you could also just melt some chocolate, not worry about temperatures, and dip your truffles.

Pistachio Crunch Truffles with Strawberry Sugar Dust

makes about 2-3 dozen truffles

ingredients:

• 12 ounces dark chocolate (70-80%), chopped
• small pinch of salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Pistachio Crunch (recipe below) (You won’t need the full recipe, but I doubt you’ll mind having extra around 😉 )
• 1 lb dark chocolate (70-80%) chopped
• Strawberry Sugar Dust (recipe below)

1. Place the 12ounces of chocolate in a large, heat-proof bowl.
2. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for about a minute. Whisk gently to fully incorporate the cream with the chocolate. Put the bowl of ganache in the fridge to cool and firm up, at least a couple hours, but it’s easiest to just do it overnight.
3. With your fingers, form the Pistachio Crunch into 1/2 teaspoon-sized balls; set aside.
4. When the ganache is cold and set, scoop out about 1 tablespoon-sized amounts. Flatten the ganache in your hand and place one of the small balls of Pistachio Crunch in the center. Wrap the ganache around it, and then roll it in your hands to form a ball. Set the truffle onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or wax paper. Repeat until all of the ganache is gone. Place the truffles in the freezer to firm up.
5. In a double-boiler, melt 2/3 0f your pound of chocolate (12 ounces), stirring until it reaches 113 degrees. Remove from the heat, wiping away any condensation that has formed on the outside of the bowl. Stir in the other 1/3 of the chocolate (6 ounces). Stir the chocolate quickly as the more its agitated, the shinier it will be once it sets. Do this until the chocolate reaches about 81 degrees. Next, place the bowl back on your double-boiler, and return the chocolate to the working temperate of around 90-93 degrees.
6. Take your truffles out of the freezer, and, using a fork, dip your truffles in the tempered chocolate. Wipe any excess chocolate off on the side of the bowl. Place the truffle onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or wax paper. Sprinkle the still wet truffle with the Strawberry Sugar Dust.

Pistachio Crunch

recipe slightly adapted from here

ingredients:

• 75g (1/2 cup) shelled, roasted, salted pistachios, chopped
• 155g (1/2 cup) pistachio paste (I buy this one)
• 60g (3/4 cup) feuilletine (I buy it here)
• 40g (1/4 cup) confectioners’ sugar

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the ingredients on medium-lox speed for about a minute.
2. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, or in the fridge if you want it to keep longer.

Strawberry Sugar Dust

ingredients:

• 1 bag Freeze-dried strawberries (You can get these at Whole Foods or on Amazon)
• Granulated sugar

1. Pour the freeze-dried strawberries into the bowl of a food processor, and process until they become a fine powder.
2. Mix equal parts sugar and strawberry powder together in a bowl. Store in an airtight container.

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The Etsy Facebook Giveaway winner is:

NANCY TATUM!

Congratulations, Nancy! I will contact you on Facebook to find out which Etsy goodie you would like!