Lemon Shortbread Truffles

The last few days I have literally spent hours purging my Pinterest pins, and I've only made it through my food section.  Why the purging?  I had pinned several duplicates, or pinned something on the wrong board, or some of the blogs were no longer in existence that contained the recipe for the original pin, etc, etc.  When I started, I had over 300 pins on my Sweets board...I finally finished with around 150.  Anyway, this was motivation for me to start working on some of the recipes I have pinned.

I made the Lemon Shortbread Truffles today.  The recipe calls for lemon curd, so instead of having Ed attempt to find it at the grocery store (since he shopped for me), I decided to make my own.  It turned out great!  I did run into a small glitch, though.  The lemon curd recipe and the truffles both call for lemon zest.  I KNOW KNOW KNOW I own a lemon zester, but I could not find it anywhere!!  I haven't used it in a long time, so there is no telling which drawer the boys put it when they were putting up the dishes.  I would have asked them, but can you see me trying to describe a lemon zester to two 11-year old boys?  Plus, they were still asleep while I was working on them.

So, how did I manage without a zester?  I first tried the part of the cheese grater that looks like a zester, but the peel just stuck in the teeth.  Then I used a potato peeler to peel off chunks of the lemon peel and I used a very sharp knife to chop the peel into tiny pieces.  I WILL own a zester before I take something else on like this.  In fact, I want to get one of those long ones they use on the Food Network shows.  I will be making a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond or Williams Sonoma very soon.  I also discovered I'm missing my melon baller and I really could have used one of those today as well.

How did the truffles turn out?  I haven't had one yet, but the boys LOVED them!!  I realize I should have taken a picture of them on a colorful plate, but I'm fresh out of colorful dishes right now.

ENJOY!!!

Collette :)


Lemon Shortbread Truffles

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 ounces white chocolate chips, melted
1/2 cup lemon curd
Zest of one large lemon
3/4 cup of shortbread cookie crumbs (I used Walker)
1 pound white candy coating (I used Wilton candy melts)

Lay a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet; set aside.  Place the softened cream cheese in a glass mixing bowl.  Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.  Add the melted white chocolate chips to the cream cheese; mix on low until smooth.  Stir in the cookie crumbs, lemon curd, and lemon zest.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour or until firm enough to scoop.  Shape the mixture into small balls; set the balls on the wax paper-lined baking sheet.  Put the sheet in the freezer for about 20 minutes.  Don't freeze them...they just need to firm enough to hold their shape when they're dipped in the white chocolate.  While waiting for the truffles to firm up, prepare the candy coating by melting it in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each.  Stir until melted and smooth.  Once the coating is melted and the truffles are firm, dip each truffle in the candy coating and place it on the wax paper-lined baking sheet.  While the coating is still wet, the truffles can be decorated with additional cookie crumbs and/or slivers of lemon rind.  Repeat the process until all truffles are dipped in the candy coating.  Pop the tray in the refrigerator until the coating is set, about 10 minutes.  Store the truffles in airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.


Lemon Curd

3 eggs
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice (I used the juice and pulp from fresh lemons)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

In a heavy saucepan, beat eggs and sugar.  Stir in lemon juice, butter, and lemon peel.  Cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until mixture is thickened and reaches 160 degrees.  Cover and store in the fridge for up to one week.  Yield:  1-2/3 cups.

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