Just like my classic chocolate truffles, rum truffles, bourbon gingerbread truffles, peppermint chocolate truffles etc., these beer chocolate truffles are also perfect as a party treat and for gift-giving during the holidays! Chocolate is one of the reasons why I became a food blogger! Every time I nibble on a piece it turns into brain sauce and gives me ideas and inspiration. You can see the results in my extensive collection of chocolate recipes!:) I love experimenting with different flavor combos with chocolate either as the centerpiece of just part of the puzzle. Is chocolate really a woman’s best friend? You better believe it. Any holiday where chocolate takes precedence is a great holiday in my book. But Christmas isn’t just for the ladies now is it? So how do you make the boys feel welcome? With a healthy dose of beer is how! 🙂 Today, I’ve got a real doozy for you guys. This is a surprisingly easy, yet super addictive truffle recipe that combines a lot of good things in life into one delicious bite-sized treat. They are one of my favorite holiday candy recipes!
Why I love these beer chocolate truffles
Chocolate? check. Beer? check. Caramel? check. Pretzels? check.
If these Chocolate Beer Truffles with Beer Pretzel Praline aren’t going to win you over some friends this holiday season, nothing ever will! 🙂 These are delectable chocolate truffles, infused with beer (because chocolate and beer are always a great pairing) and then studded with crunchy pretzel praline that has ALSO been infused with beer. I wasn’t sure the beer pretzel praline would work although I desperately wanted it to. I did it on a hunch and I was super excited when it did work! 🙂 So much so that I made another batch of it just for myself. To nibble on. Fringe benefits, you know. It goes without saying that my favorite part about these chocolate beer truffles is the pretzel crust. I made it by soaking crushed pretzel in beer and then mixed it with caramel and baked it till it was dry and crisp. And then crushed it in the food processor. The result was a gloriously crunchy and sweet pretzel praline with a warm hint of beer. I recommend using a good quality beer that you like. I used Schlafly Christmas ale (St. Louis brewery), a special seasonal release that has notes of cinnamon, clove and the likes with sweet caramel malt. But feel free to use whatever type of beer you like, or even replace it with a different type of alcohol – rum, brandy, whiskey, cognac would be my choices.
Recipe highlights
These truffles are incredible. They are light and soft – melt in your mouth soft with that beautiful warming hint of beer. I used a mix of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate so it’s a little sweeter than a plain dark chocolate truffle. But you’re more than welcome to use dark chocolate only if you prefer. Just make sure it’s a good quality chocolate that tastes good, because crappy chocolate = crappy truffle in this case. And since I’m not coating these truffles with any chocolate, the pretzel praline needs to be pressed into the truffle for it to stick. The way I did it was to take the piped truffle into my hand (the truffle itself sets fairly quickly and is not sticky at all) and then roll it into a roughly-shaped ball first. Then I took some pretzel praline into my palm and placed the truffle ball on top and pressed it into the crispy pretzel bits. Cover the whole truffle this way. The truffle itself has a creamy, chocolatey center, but when covered in that deliciously crunchy praline, it’s a whole different kind of sweet. Both in terms of flavor and texture. It’s an amazing grown up treat that you can treat all your grown up friends to this holiday season, and my hubs and I enjoyed it in true grown up fashion with a chilled beer in our hands. While watching How to train your dragon on Netflix. Hey, I LOVE Toothless OK? Just a note though, the pretzel praline won’t remain crunchy after the first 24 hours. It will still be insanely delicious with that combination of beer and caramel flavor, but it will be more chewy than crunchy by the second day. So put ’em in a box and make a gift out of ’em, if you don’t mind sharing. Mr K has been taking them to work as his after lunch treat this week. And I’m nibbling on one right now as I write this. With a hot mug of coffee to complement it. Fringe benefits, you know. If you liked this recipe don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes and updates by entering your email address below (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
