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Pumpkin Truffles on a plate
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5 from 8 votes

Pumpkin Truffles

These sweet little bite-sized pumpkin treats can be fancy or plain. Great to make with kids. Plan ahead because they're better eaten the day after their made to allow all the flavors to continue to develop together.
Prep Time3 hours
Cook Time0 minutes
Course: Candy, Dessert
Cuisine: Holiday
Keyword: chocolate, holiday food, pumpkin, thanksgiving
Servings: 36
Calories: 64kcal
Author: Sally Humeniuk

Ingredients

For the Truffles:

  • ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
  • 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
  • cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 ¾ cups finely crushed graham crackers, about 16 full crackers
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

For the Coating:

  • 10 ounces melting chocolate, white or dark, or combination of both
  • 1 Tbsp shortening, optional. See instructions.
  • Coarse salt or sugar sprinkles for decoration, optional

Instructions

Make the truffles:

  • In a large bowl or in bowl of stand mixer, beat ¼ cup softened cream cheese and 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add ⅓ cup pumpkin; beat until combined.
  • Add 1 ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or until thick and smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop rounded teaspoons or cookie scoops of the chilled pumpkin mixture and roll into 1-inch balls or whatever size you like. Place pumpkin balls on the prepared baking sheet and chill 30 minutes.

For coating:

  • About 5 minutes before removing the pumpkin balls from the refrigerator, place 1o ounces melting chocolate and 1 Tablespoon shortening in a bowl. (Some melting chocolate does not require shortening for success, so depending on the type you buy, if it doesn't say to add shortening during melting, then leave it out. If you're not sure, melt the chocolate without it and if it seems too thick, then add about a teaspoon of shortening, stir it into the melted chocolate until the shortening is melted/incorporated.) Microwave at 50 percent at 30-second intervals until melted and smooth, stirring after each interval. Cool slightly. If using two types of chocolate, repeat with second bowl. (See recipe notes for further optional instructions.)
  • Remove pumpkin balls from the refrigerator. Using a fork, dip balls into the chocolate mixture, allowing excess chocolate to drip back into bowl. Place the dipped balls back onto the prepared baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle with salt or sugar; whatever decoration you're adding, if any. 
  • Continue with all the pumpkin balls, then return completed truffles to refrigerator to chill overnight before serving.

To Store the Truffles:

  • Pumpkin truffles can be placed in cellophane bags, little candy boxes or small paper or foil candy cups. 
  • Truffles keep in the refrigerator for at least a week or may be frozen for 2 months. Caution; frozen dark chocolate truffles may develop a white film that may not come off after returning to refrigerator.
  • Truffles are excellent when served chilled.

Notes

  1. I highly recommend using chocolate especially made for melting. The highest quality melting chocolates are usually sold online or at local gourmet food stores. Melting chocolate is usually packaged as the chocolate discs, also called apeels. Good quality  can be found at many craft stores. I used ChocoMaker Naturals (containing no hydrogenated oils, etc). I found them at JoAnn's. If you use regular chocolate chips etc., they may not melt very well and not harden to the desired level after cooling.
  2. Do not skip the step where you chill the truffle filling for at least an hour before rolling into the truffle balls. This time in the fridge (even just for an hour) allows the ingredients to become just smooth and dense enough for successful balls.
  3. White chocolate is temperamental when melting, so here are a couple tips for you. I recommend melting white chocolate at no more than 50% power in the microwave. Test and stir the chocolate every 30 seconds. If the chocolate becomes brittle, you've heated it too much. Allow to cool a little and stir vigorously till smooth. If when you dip your truffles in the white chocolate the chocolate isn't nice and smooth upon lifting out of the chocolate, like if it kind of wrinkles across the truffle and seems thin, then it's also too hot. Allow a minute or two for the white chocolate to cool and then dip again and it should work well.
  4. As I mentioned, the truffles can be rolled into balls whatever size you like, but the truffles shown in my pictures were 1" in size before dipping.
  5. I highly recommend letting the truffles sit overnight in the refrigerator before serving as the flavors of the filling and the coating seems to bloom overnight and compliment each other perfectly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1truffle | Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 31mg | Potassium: 53mg | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.6mg