I love the holidays. I'll probably end up waxing eloquent about my family later, but today, it's all about my friends. I don't know how long "Friendsgiving" has been a tradition, but I love it. It's a time to celebrate the chosen family who deserve some gratitude as well. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful friends I've had throughout my life. If it wasn't for my friends in Texas particularly, this move would have been a lot more difficult and scary. I do make an effort to try and choose good friends, and it looks like I have chosen well. You guys are great. You aren't just there when things are good, you aren't just there when things are bad. You're just there because you want to be. I love having people I can call up and ask to join me on the most random adventures, or just to hang out with on nights when I want to be around people but am too tired to be around people who take a lot of energy (extrovert problems). It's a big world full of people, and I'm honored that you have chosen me as a friend.
Even when they're not around, my friends take up residence in my thoughts. When I see something, be it an event, a movie, or an object, it's not uncommon for my first thought to be of who would like that. I have saved many recipes on Pinterest that I wouldn't even like just because I know a particular friend would like it. I want my friends to know that they are in my thoughts, and Friendsgiving is a great time to express that.
I was invited to a Friendsgiving with a group consisting of college buddies and some of their friends (yay for expanding the chosen family). Of course, we all brought food of some sort. I made pumpkin sage biscuits (which may be a future post) and my recipe for this week: Orange Creamsicle Truffles.
Most people have at least one flavor combination that they cannot resist. There can be the biggest menu in the world, but if that flavor combo is there, it's the default order every time. For me, it's that sweet, sweet peppermint mocha. It's just perfect: the rich, sweet chocolate with the bitter notes from the coffee and that nice chill from the peppermint. For my dear friend Sydnee, that flavor is the orange creamsicle. So when I saw the recipe for orange creamsicle truffles, I knew she needed a batch. I had previously made matcha truffles with a similar recipe, and they turned out delicious, so I knew I could make these exactly the right thing for this Friendsgiving. I love making truffles, it's very satisfying. Something about rolling out the little balls and dusting them with powdered sugar is just fun. Plus, they're pretty hard to screw up, so they're a good fail-safe treat to bring to something like this. The only downside is that they do make a mess. The powdered sugar gets everywhere. Which is why they remind me of little snowballs, all round and fluffy. Texas doesn't exactly get much snow, so these are probably the only snowballs I see around here. I hate the cold, so these are definitely more my kind of snowballs. I think my friends would agree that they were a snowball they wouldn't mind having more of. Who knows, I might try other flavors like lemon or almond. Just watch out for yellow snowballs. (yeah yeah, gross joke, but we've established many times that I am an overgrown child)
So, here's my recipe
Sprinkles of Kim:
-I doubled the recipe using 16 oz of chocolate. The exact number of truffles you get will depend on the size you want to make them
-about half an orange's worth of zest per recipe is about what you want. I was making a double batch so I zested one wholeorange
-I didn't have orange food coloring, so I just added drops of red and yellow till I was satisfied with the color
-To add to the creamsicle idea, I split the mixture into two bowls and only colored one orange. Then, when I was rolling them out I took a little from each bowl and smooshed it together to get two-colored truffles. They looked like half-and-half rather than a swirl, but I still liked it.
-It is of utmost importance to keep these things cold until they get the powdered sugar treatment, otherwise they get really sticky and lose their shape. My strategy was to roll about 5-10 truffles, then pout them in the freezer for a few minutes, then roll them in the powdered sugar and put them in my container. I also stored these in the fridge until I was ready to leave for the party. Remember, they are chocolate, so they will melt if you give them a chance. These are definitely easier to make when it's cold outside, so maybe they're better a a special Christmas thing or a snow day tradition.
I hope you all find something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. If you can't be with your family, or it brings up a lot of bad memories, consider a Friendsgiving with your chosen family. Between my Friendsgiving, my office party at work, and all of the family events, I'm going to be Thanksgiving-ed out by the time I reach Thursday. And I could not be more grateful, because it means I have people around me to be thankful for. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get ready for my family Thanksgivings. And yes, that's plural.
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