Today, I continue our Jingle Bells holiday series with a delicious and easy holiday truffle recipe! I make these cinnamon rum truffles every year, usually twice as they never last to Christmas in our little cottage. The main ingredient, you guessed it, is milk and plain (semi-sweet) chocolate.

Easy holiday truffle recipe

Use the best quality you can possibly find as the truffles really center around the chocolate flavor. For a holiday kick, I added a splash of rum and ground cinnamon, which round out the rich aroma of the chocolate.

The other ingredients include cream and some sort of fat. The truffles can be prepared with butter, cocoa butter, or coconut oil, depending on what you prefer and have at hand. I have also included a few flavor variations, and once you have the recipe down, you can experiment even more.

Before getting into this super easy holiday truffle recipe, I have a confession to make: I don’t like chocolate. At all. When choosing desserts or a treat, I always go for something citrus-flavoured (my fave: creamy lemon squares), fruit-related (don’t miss my blueberry streusel bars) or caramel-drenched (e.g. this yum caramel popcorn) but never once chocolate.

As seemingly all the bloggers love chocolate, you probably thinking: Wut?! How can this lassie blog when she doesn’t like chocolate, a Christmas truffle recipe to crown it all?

Well, let me explain. My sister Irena and my husband, however, do love chocolate, passionately that is, in all forms and servings. So they constantly beg and nag me to whip up something chocolatey. Their insistence on chocolate-loaded desserts has led me to create my chocolate mousse tart, chocolate chip brownies and homemade chocolate doughnuts.

Gifting homemade holiday truffles

But whether you share my feelings towards chocolate, these quick holiday truffles are an absolute must-try and will be much loved by any foodie and chocolate connoisseur. This easy Christmas treat is an excellent homemade food gift and stocking filler.

If you need gifts for a big lot, simply double the recipe. You can package the cinnamon rum truffles in mason jars, small apothecary jars, or cellophane bags. We will share plenty of free printable packing ideas over the next weeks, so stay tuned for that and check out our collection of homemade edible gifts for more inspiration.

More truffle recipes

What’s better than one yum chocolate truffle recipe? Loads of them! Simply tap the links or images below to check out even more delicious ideas.

Easy Holiday Truffle Recipe

Yield: 32 truffles

Prep Time: 1 hour

Chilling Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 7 hours

If preferred, swap the rum and cinnamon for the 5 tbsp whisky and 1 tsp vanilla extract, or 3 tbsp chocolate liqueur and 2 tsp mint extract, or 5 tbsp Irish Cream and 2 tsp orange extract. I don’t recommend making this recipe with white chocolate since white chocolate has a different setting point than plain (semi-sweet) and milk chocolate and the truffles might turn out too soft.

Ingredients

355 g (12.5 oz) milk chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
255 g (9 oz) plain (semi-sweet) chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
180 ml (3/4 cup) full-fat cream
60 g (4 1/2 tbsp) butter, cocoa butter, or coconut oil
5 tbsp rum
2 tsp ground cinnamon
100 g (1 cup) icing (confectioners’/powdered) sugar to roll the truffles

Instructions

Prep work. Line a square 20 cm x 20 cm (8 in x 8 in) baking tin (pan) with cling film (plastic/Saran wrap). Create an overhang on two sides so you can lift the chilled chocolate mixture from the pan.
Melt the chocolate:
Microwave method
To melt the chocolate in a microwave, place the milk and plain (semi-sweet) chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl or dish and heat on medium high in intervals of 30 seconds. Stir between each interval and repeat this process until the chocolate has completely melted.
Double boiler method
To melt the chocolate in a double boiler, fill a saucepan 1/3 with water and bring to a mild simmer. Add both types of chocolate to a heatproof bowl and place on top of the saucepan. The water shouldn’t touch the bottom of the bowl and make sure the chocolate doesn’t come in contact with water, or it might seize and become unusable. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted.
Make the chocolate mixture. Add the cream and rum into a saucepan and heat over low flame. The liquids shouldn’t boil but warm up to mix better with chocolate. Add the melted chocolate, butter/cocoa butter/coconut oil and ground cinnamon. Stir gently until the fat has dissolved and the ganache is well combined, but be careful not to overmix.
Chill the ganache. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared baking tin (pan) and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours or until the ganache is solid. You can shorten the chilling time by placing the ganache in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours.
Roll the truffles. Take the cold ganache out of the baking tin (pan) and remove the clingfilm (plastic/Saran wrap). Using a sharp knife, cut into 32 squares and roll between the palms of your hands into a ball. Then roll in icing (confectioners’/powdered) sugar until evenly coated.