Cinnamon Chocolate Truffles

I’m sure I got my love of cinnamon from my mom.

She may not use a full teaspoon (or more) in her oatmeal like I do, but her favorite candies have always been red hots and fire balls.

I used to be a wuss when it came to fire balls. I would let them soak in a cup of water for a few minutes before eating them so the really hot layer would melt away.

Is that weird? Gross? Both? Probably.

She never did that. She loved them – burn and all.

And I grew to love them, too. Even though the burn made my nose run, they were so good that I didn’t mind.

A week or so ago, I ended up walking down the candy isle in Kroger and saw a bag of red hots. I have not had red hots in years and couldn’t help but pick them up. After a handful, I knew I wanted to make something cinnamon + pink for Valentine’s Day.

Lucky for my mom, I made them early and her and the rest of my family got to try these truffles when they were visiting a few weekends ago.

I always thought truffles would be hard to make.

Or, really, I just expected my kitchen to end up looking like the I Love Lucy chocolate episode with truffles flying everywhere and me, sick of chocolate at the end of the day.

Fact: Truffles are super easy to make.

And there is no way – ever, I think – that I could ever ever be sick of chocolate.

If you can melt, roll, and dip, you can make truffles.

I promise it’s no harder than that.

Melt your filling, let it chill.

Roll it into your truffle fillings.

Dip them in more chocolate.

Let them sit for a few minutes before attacking.

After polling you guys on Facebook about whether I should dip this filling in white or semi-sweet, I took your suggestions and did both.

That was the best idea for these truffles, for sure.

The filling is pink and has just a hint of cinnamon flavor, melted into sugary sweet white chocolate.

My family was split on which dip they liked better – my older sister loved the white chocolate shell; I was – and usually am – a sucker for the semi-sweet.

Dip it in whatever chocolate you love the best! The filling is the most important part, anyway.

Cinnamon Chocolate Truffles

Makes: 30-40 truffles

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup cream
  • 2 Tbsp red hot candies
  • 8 0z. white chocolate (good quality – I used Ghirardelli chips)
  • 4 oz. white chocolate or semi-sweet, for dipping (or a mix)
  • sprinkles

Directions:

  1. In a small sauce pan, heat the cream and red hot candies for a few minutes until the cream is warm and the candies are beginning to melt. Once the cream is a rich pink color, remove from heat and strain the candies from the cream.
  2. Place the cream in a double boiler (bowl set over a pot of simmering water) and add 8 oz. of white chocolate, stirring slowly together until the chocolate is melted into the cream.
  3. Once the chocolate mixture is smooth, place it in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.
  4. When the chocolate and cream filling mixture is chilled, remove from the fridge and roll into 1-inch rounds.
  5. Melt the white or semi-sweet chocolate for dipping (either in the microwave or a double boiler) and set aside.
  6. Drop the truffle center into the melted chocolate, roll it around to cover the filling completely, and shake off the excess chocolate before placing the truffle onto parchment paper or foil. Add sprinkles before the chocolate sets. Repeat with remaining truffles.

28 comments

  1. I am a huge cinnamon fan! As a result, i think vday is the best holiday candy-wise. These turned out just perfect

  2. What a fun idea, those truffles are so pretty inside!

  3. I love the idea of making homemade candy but I also know it requires a lot of work and patience. I admire you for that! :)

  4. Love these! I made myself Red Hot Cupcakes last year for my birthday because I too am obsessed with all things spicy cinnamon – http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2011/03/red-hot-cupcakes.html

    Will have to try these next!

  5. Those are freaking genius! I love the idea of using candy to flavor the centers.

    My mom is a cinnamon lover too, I totally need to make these for her.

  6. That filling looks delicious. I think I could eat it on its own.

  7. Omg..I totally love that you made red hot infused truffles! love them

  8. My mom loves cinnamon, too! And definitely gave her love to me. I’m currently working on a cinnamon cocktail :) These truffles look absolutely incredible and I love the color of the filling! I bet they have an awesome flavor for an extra Valentine’s kick!

  9. Man I NEED to try these!!!

  10. What an awesome idea! I totally need to try these for my hubby! Although I’m sure I’d love them too – can’t get enough of cinnamon this time of year :D

  11. haha, how fun!! i used to love fireballs! good trick with the water, i always just tried to see if i could last :)

  12. I am all about cinnamon too! I shake the container into my oatmeal like there is no tomorrow! I started doing cinnamon and splenda in oatmeal (now I use truvia) in college and I had a professor that would stop class every time I had it to ask what that delicious smell was. It was a little awkward but he was really good looking so I didn’t mind :) And these truffles look delicious! I love the pink filling and shiny chocolate topping!

  13. LOVE cinnamon. These turned out adorable!

  14. Now that you mention it, I remember my mom eating fire balls and redhots a lot too. I love cinnamon but I was always a wuss. If my little sister (when she was really little) saw my mom with a fire ball, she would ask “hot ball? hot ball?” And try to take it. She loves spicy things to this day.

    These truffles look gorgeous!

  15. Zomg! These are so pretty and look yummy as heck. I need to make these, stat!

  16. I love red hots and fireballs. In fact, I knew it was true love once I got my husband hooked on fireballs, too. He never goes anywhere without two or three in his pocket. These sound like the perfect truffles for us to have on V-day, then. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!

  17. Brandi, these truffles are gorgeous! I can tell you must have worked hard on them, but the recipe seems so simple. Thanks for sharing this sweet V-Day treat!

  18. such a fun recipe for this time of year–perfect for cinnamon lovers!:)

  19. Woww! these look so delicious! Definitely going to try this! :)

  20. I love the pink color of the centers…I always was a sucker for red hots, too. What a great (and easy!!) treat to make for Valentine’s.

  21. Holy yum! I’d love to receive a box of these in honor of VDay :P If only my man was a cook hehe!

  22. Wow, these look amazing! I love cinnamon candies too. They actually go great in apple butter. ;)

  23. You say 1/4 cup cream. Is that heavy cream, or table (coffee) cream?

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