Ethiopian Truffles

 

Ethiopian Truffles
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 291.

I don't know where the name originated but these macaroon-like cookies are delicious and fun to make. A pastry dough is wrapped around a mixture of almonds and chocolate. There is a distinct almond flavor from almond extract as well. 

This recipe appears in her first book and the baking temperature is not noted. After doing a search, I found the recipe online which stated 375 as the temperature. However, they thought that was too much and reduced it to 325. I decided to take the middle route and baked them at 350. It took a long time and I was beginning to think they would never begin to brown. So, 375 sounds right to me. She does say to use double baking sheets to keep the bottom of the cookies from burning (an insulated cooking sheet might work as well).

 

Pastry

4 oz (1 stick) butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour 

Line an insulated baking pan (or use two stacked pans) with parchment paper and set aside.

Beat the butter until softened. Add the vanilla, sugar and salt and mix. Add the flour and beat until incorporated. 

Form the dough into an oblong shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

 Black Truffles

4 oz. (3/4 cup) blanched almonds
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
3 TBS. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 egg white

In a food processor, finely chop the almonds, chocolate and sugar (30 seconds - 1 minute).

 

With the processor running, add the vanilla and almond extracts and the egg white.

 

Transfer the mixture to a work surface and shape it into an oblong tube shape.

 

Cut into twenty pieces and roll into balls.

 

Retrieve the dough from the refrigerator and cut it into 20 pieces. Roll each piece and flatten it. Although the recipes says to do this with your hand, I had better success with a rolling pin. To do this, place the dough on a piece of wax paper and cover with another piece of paper. Gently roll the pieces until flattened. Use a spatula to lift them if they stick.

 

Place a ball of the filling on the dough. Use your finger to shape the dough around the filling. It does not have to cover the filling completely and will be more attractive if you can see both the dough and filling.

Roll them into a smooth ball and place on the cookie sheet about 1" apart.  Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before baking.

Bake at 375  for 20 minutes or until the dough is lightly colored. Transfer to a rack to cool. After they have cooled, sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.