Cherry Garcia Truffles...

From back to front:

Cookie Dough Truffles in milk chocolate coating

Carrot Cake Truffles in white chocolate coating

Homemade Marshmallows dipped in milk chocolate and rolled in crushed graham crackers

Cherry Garcia Truffles in dark chocolate coating

So I found that I love making truffles. They are so easy and I'm starting to get pretty good at it! Last year I made cookie dough truffles from a recipe that I got from Taste of Home magazine. It was so yummy and a serious hit! This year I decided that although it was pretty amazing, I needed to make it even better.

I decided that I love Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream and seeing as though it has been in the top 10 since it came out, a lot of other people must really like it too, right? Well, I took the perfect cookie truffle recipe and added some dried cherries and cherry flavoring, dunked them in dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate and OMG... it was awesome!!!

Here is the recipe:

Cherry Garcia Truffles

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1-1/2 pounds dark chocolate candy coating, chopped
5-7 drops of cherry flavoring (not extract)

In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip balls in coating, allowing excess to drip off; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. If desired, re-melt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies. Store in the refrigerator.

Note: I used a candy making kit to melt the chocolate so I didn't have to worry about it hardening, but last year I used a crockpot on high to melt and then put it on low to dip. This allowed me to dip all of the truffles without having to remelt the chocolate.