Banana Split Truffles

Wow these were such a labor of love.  My sister and I made these for my families gift baskets this year.  I've never made truffles before but have eaten quite a few from chocolate stores =) So, we set upon a great adventure yesterday.  I love weekends.  So much potential to get things squared away before the week starts anew.  We spent off and on all day doing these, and in the end decided to wait until this morning to finish them because the ganache just did not want to set up.  We were happy with the firmness of them this morning and finished it off.  And they are so cute.  I couldn't be happier.  They look just like a scoop of ice cream with chocolate  sprinkles, and a cherry on top!  

Banana Split Truffles



Ingredients:

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• ½ large banana, very ripe
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp banana extract or flavoring (optional)
• 12 oz white candy coating
• 4 oz chocolate candy coating
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Sprinkles
• Red candies like M&Ms, jelly beans, or red hots(I used cordial cherry M&M's)

Directions:

• Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat it until it simmers and small bubbles form all along the edges of the pan, but do not allow it to come to a full boil.
• While the cream is heating, prepare the white chocolate and banana mixture.  Place the half banana in the food processor and mix until the banana has liquefied.
• Add the white chocolate chips to the banana and process until the white chocolate is in small pieces. The mixture will clump together, so stop the processor several times to scrape it down. Once the cream is simmering, carefully pour the hot cream in a small stream down into the bowl of the processor and let it run until the white chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth and free of lumps.
• When everything is smooth, transfer the ganache into a bowl and whisk in the banana extract. Cover the ganache with cling wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to scoop and roll, between 2-4 hours.
• Once the ganache is firm, coat your hands with powdered sugar and roll the ganache into small balls, dusting your hands with more powdered sugar to prevent sticking if necessary.  
• Keep the balls chilling in the refrigerator while you melt the white candy coating. Once melted, use a fork or dipping tools to dip the truffles into the coating, then set them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate the tray to set the white chocolate for 10 minutes.
• After all the truffles are dipped, it’s time to decorate them! For the chocolate “sauce,” melt the chocolate candy coating in a small bowl. Using a spoon, place a small spoonful of dark chocolate on top of a truffle, and use the tip of the spoon to nudge it off the sides in a thin stream. 
• What we did, because our chocolate was firming up so fast was spoon a little bit of chocolate on top, then splash the sprinkles and top with the cherry M&M. But, if the chocolate is really wet feel free to top all of them with chocolate then go back and sprinkle and top with your 'cherry'.
• Refrigerate the tray to set the chocolate coating. Store truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

We had a lot of fun with this.  I hope you do too!

Adapted from recipe found on : About.com