Thursday, February 25, 2010

coconut truffles - my hatred for sweetened condensed milk overrides anything else

coconut truffles - 40Being that I had half a can of sweetened condensed milk sitting in my fridge (eew) from the magic 7 layer bars, I needed to find some use for it pronto. Personally, sweetened condensed milk disgusts me- The mere image of the thick cream-colored goop disgusts me. Sure, it comes out great in recipes (because you can't taste it or see it), but other than that, please get that gooey sappy syrup away from me. Okay, I'm done with my little rant... Anyways, I also still had candy coating leftover from the valentine's day truffles, so I figured I'd do an all-inclusive clean out of random ingredients in my baking drawer.

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Coconut truffles were the plan, and I found a basic recipe online for which I would somewhat follow.

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I toasted half the coconut, and left the other half untoasted (as suggested in the recipe). The shredded coconut was mixed with the condensed milk (yes, by hand- eew).

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The recipe used powdered sugar and crushed graham cracker crumbs to make up the rest of the mixture. I thought that was pretty ingenious- because the balls would have been too sticky and way too sweet to eat just as is.

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I rolled out my little mini balls on parchment paper and put them in the fridge to firm up.

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Time for a taste test. Yep- pretty good. (These were nothing like the other truffles I made though.) The main thing was that I knew my little sweet-toothed-boy would enjoy these.

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The first batch I decorated were completely dunked in white candy coating, and then sprinkled with a little leftover coconut. Fancy shmancy much?

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Once I realized my white dipping chocolate was diminishing, I decided to dip only half of the truffle but pack on the coconut into the remaining exterior.

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If you love coconut and you love sweet things, these are the truffles for you (a.k.a. the perfect definition of my boyfriend). I mean, besides the fact that I did only eat about 20 of these, I wasn't fully satisfied with them- I guess I would say they were a little too dry for me.

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I think they needed to be a little more moist (Dare I say... add more sweetened condensed milk?) Yuck, I think I'd rather have them on the drier side then, thanks.

---RECIPE---
Adapted from The Kitchn.

note:
These "Creamy Lime & Coconut Truffle Bites" make about 200 truffles. I cut the recipe in fourths, and added/subtracted amounts depending on the consistency of my mixture.

ingredients:
12 cups shredded coconut, divided
2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 limes, zested and juiced (omitted)
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 pounds confectioners' sugar

directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 6 cups coconut on a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Stir the coconut several times to keep it from burning. Remove the coconut when toasty brown and slightly crispy.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the remaining 6 cups untoasted coconut, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, lime juice, lime zest and graham cracker crumbs. Beat until well mixed. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and stir until well-mixed. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. Scoop the mix out with a teaspoon and roll each lump in a ball, then roll in the toasted coconut. Place on a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet and freeze for at least an hour or two before serving.

amount:
Makes about 200 truffles.

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