Book Birthday Treats – FREE Recipes!

Each Tuesday, we love to wish our books a very happy #BookBday. Today is extra special because we've got the treats to back it up! Anne is entering a baking competition at work next week and decided to do a test run of her Halloween desserts: Pumpkin Granola Truffles and Halloweeny Boo Bites. We hope you'll enjoy them too–they're very easy to make and you don't even have to turn on your oven! Read on for recipes with pictures!

Pumpkin Granola Truffles

Everyone is crazy for pumpkin-flavored anything in fall and these little gems are just another way to feed your craving. Makes about 20 truffles.

Ingredients:

• 15 vanilla sandwich cookies
• 4 tbsp canned pumpkin
• 2 tbsp low-fat cream cheese (or Neufchatel cheese)
• 2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1 cup granola
• 1-1/2 c. white or colored chocolate chopped into quarter-size pieces (or Wilton Candy Melts   see note at the end)

Instructions

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside.
2. Process the cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin, cream cheese, and pumpkin spice and process until a dough begins to form, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean bowl. The mixture will be moist.1)
3. If your granola is very clumpy, process it in the food processor until it breaks down to pea-size pieces, taking care not to overprocess. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
4. Mix 3/4 c. of the granola into the pumpkin dough. Roll into 1-inch balls and place them on the cookie sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for 45 minutes.
   
5. While the balls are in the refrigerator, melt and temper the white chocolate, or melt the Wilton Candy Melts in the microwave according to the instructions on the package. Using a fork, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll to entirely coat it. Lift the ball out of the chocolate, tapping the fork to remove excess chocolate and return it to the cookie sheet. Sprinkle each truffle with the remaining 1/4 cup granola and dust with cinnamon or pumpkin spice. Refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour.

   

6. Enjoy!   Halloweeny Boo Bites

The colors of these little bites are perfect for Halloween! They'll make a festive addition to your costume party. Makes about 20 truffles. 

Ingredients:

• 15 chocolate sandwich cookies
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp low-fat cream cheese (or Neufchatel cheese)
• 1-1/2 c. orange Wilton Candy Melts (alternatively, you can use white chocolate or a different color)
• Sprinkles or ground up chocolate cookie crumbs

Instructions

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and set aside.
2. Process the cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs form, about 1 minute. Add the honey and cream cheese and process until a dough begins to form, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean bowl.
3. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on the cookie sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for 45 minutes.
4. After the balls are done chilling, melt the Wilton Candy Melts in the microwave according to the instructions on the package. Using a fork, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll to entirely coat it. Lift the ball out of the chocolate, tapping the fork to remove excess chocolate and return it to the cookie sheet. Sprinkle each truffle with fall-themed sprinkles or ground up chocolate cookie crumbs. Refrigerate until solid, about 1 hour.
5. Enjoy!

Recipes are adapted from the no make bakery cookbook by Cristina Suarez Krumsick.

Baker's Note: Anne likes to use Wilton Candy Melts because they're fairly easy to use, generally less expensive than chocolate and come in fun colors. You can get them at your local craft store or specialty baking store, or get them online. For the Pumpkin Granola Truffles, she used the limited edition Pumpkin Spice Wilton Candy Melts. For the Halloweeny Boo Bites, she used the Orange (but vanilla flavored) Wilton Candy Melts.

If you want to melt and temper your own chocolate, check out this very handy how-to from Valrhona Chocolate. Happy baking!