Do you like pecans? Do you like Bourbon? Then you should make these, no questions asked. My colleague Jillian brought them to our recent holiday party and everyone went NUTS for them (pun intended). So, I made them for a holiday party I hosted, and again - everyone couldn't stop eating them AND talking about them!
You can go all out and dip them in tempered chocolate, or you can use melted chocolate chips with a 1/2tsp of vegetable oil to make the dipping easier, OR you can just roll them in a cocoa and powdered sugar mix. Either way, these will soon become a holiday staple in all our kitchens.
Happy Baking!
Adapted from Martha Stewart
MAKES a bunch (approximately 40)
INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES
2.5 cups pecans, toasted (bake at 350F for 5-10 minutes) and finely chopped (finer than pictured!)
1 cup graham cracker or biscoff cookie crumbs
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (205g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Bourbon
10 ounces dark chocolate*, or 10 ounces chocolate chips* + 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil, or cocoa + powdered sugar
Cookie sheet & aluminum foil (for toasting the pecans)
Cutting board & chef's knife (for chopping the pecans)
Medium mixing bowl
Flexible spatula
Small cookie scoop or Tablespoon measure
Wax Paper
Double boiler or microwave safe medium bowl
Chocolate dipping tool or fork
*You probably only need about 7 ounces of chocolate, but I always find that when dipping truffles if I don't have enough at the end it gets really hard to cover them fully. So, if you use 10oz, you'll have extra leftover but you can always just let it re-harden and reuse it!
DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, stir together your 2.5c chopped pecans, 1c cookie crumbs, 1c dark brown sugar (205g), and 1/2tsp salt.
Add 2TB maple syrup and 1/4c + 1TB Bourbon, and mix until a scoopable mixture.
Scoop into balls with a small cookie scoop or tablespoon measure, and roll them in your hands so they're round.
Freeze in a single layer (on wax paper or aluminum on a cookie sheet or cutting board) for at least 2 hours.
When they're ready to be dipped, if you want to get that smooth glossy sheen of chocolate on the outside you'll need to temper your chocolate using a double boiler. If you don't know how to do that, Google "How to temper chocolate" and you'll get some good info from TheKitchn.com, SeriousEats.com, and a few other sources.
If you don't want to do that, you can melt chocolate according to Tip #9 here, either using the chocolate or the chocolate chips. If you're using chocolate chips it'll be a little thicker and more difficult to dip into, so add about a 1/2tsp of flavorless oil to thin it out. Or, just skip the dipping altogether, roll them in a mix of powdered sugar and cocoa and you're good to go!
If you're dipping them with tempered chocolate, make sure to check and rewarm your chocolate as needed if it drops too far below 88F.
Dip & place on wax paper, topping with any sprinkles or decorations within about 30 seconds before the chocolate starts to harden.
These will keep room temperature for up to two weeks, or longer in the fridge.