PISTACHIO CARDAMOM TRUFFLES

This past week I’ve been trying to find multiple uses for the extra shelled pistachios I have in my pantry. I made pistachio shortbread cookies and I thought chocolate truffles would be a great recipe to feature here. Pistachio add the perfect texture and cardamom make a perfect pairing with chocolate. It has truly become one of my favorite things to pair with chocolate when baking. I first discovered cardamom a few years ago at Penzeys Spices. While walking around getting whiffs of all the interesting spices I came across cardamom. I read the description which said it was great for baking. In my basket it went.

I did some research and found out that it goes great with chocolate. I used to it right away for the chocolate ganache for cupcakes I was making that weekend, loved it ever since. The best way for me to describe the taste as minty, spicy and fresh. You can purchase them in pods and already ground. I now use it often when baking. A great compliment to my cinnamon coffee cakes. This recipe is great it takes very little time to assemble the chocolate base. You do need to wait for the base to set in the fridge but the end results will be well worth it. What are some of your favorite chocolate pairings?

Makes 25 Truffles

Ingredients

12 oz. semisweet chocolate

3/4 heavy cream 

1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom

1 cup shelled pistachios chopped. 

Directions

1. Heat the cream in a saucepan on medium heat until it reaches a simmer. 

2. Pour over chocolate and let sit for 3 minutes.

3. Whisk chocolate and cream until completely smooth.

4. Place chocolate mixture in fridge for the 3 hours or until mixture is set. 

5. With a spoon scoop out chocolate and roll chocolate into a ball. 

6. Covered truffle completely with pistachios. 

7. Let set in fridge for 1 hour. Enjoy!