3-Ingredient Gingerbread Truffles

These little make-ahead truffles just taste like Christmas to me.  It's like eating gingerbread cookie dough, but better because this "dough" is dipped in white chocolate.  And they're bite-size so you don't have to make a whole big dessert out of them, although you could.  Instead, just pop one or two or four in your mouth and move on to the rest of the holiday goodies.

Bonus:  This couldn't be any easier.  Seriously, get the kids to make these, they'll love it!

16oz. pkg. frosted gingerbread cookies, finely crushed

8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1c white melting chocolate (Ghirardelli wafers are my new favorite) 

1.  In a large bowl, mix together the crushed cookies and cream cheese until well blended.  Cover and refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

2.  Roll into 1" balls and place on parchment paper.

3.  Melt chocolate according to package instructions.

4.  Using a toothpick, dip each ball one at a time into the chocolate, turning to coat completely.  Allow excess chocolate to drip off and place truffle on the paper.

5.  Refrigerate and allow chocolate to harden prior to serving.  Store any extras in the refrigerator.

Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies with Pomegranate and Sea Salt

I was recently gifted two fantastic ingredients - black onyx cocoa powder and vanilla bean paste.  Both of which I had never tried before so had no idea what I was missing out on.  The first thing you should know is, I will never buy plain old vanilla extract again.  The vanilla bean paste has spoiled me forever on that.  Secondly, people are not joking when they say black onyx cocoa absolutely needs to be blended into regular cocoa.  It's that rich.

The pomegranate seeds not only add a nice pop of color but also a lighter contrast in flavors to the intensity of the dark chocolate.  And just a little sprinkling of sea salt at the end brings it all together.

1/2c butter, melted

1 1/4c white sugar

1/2c cocoa powder

1/4c + 2 TBSP black onyx cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste

2 eggs

1/3c all-purpose flour

1 pomegranate, seeded

1.  Preheat oven to 350°

2.  In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, both cocoa powders, salt, and vanilla paste.

3.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after adding each.

4.  Gradually stir in the flour just until blended.

5.  Pour batter into a prepared 8x8 baking dish (batter will be thick!) and top with 1/2c of the pomegranate seeds.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with additional salt and pomegranate seeds.