Chocolate Truffle Stuffed Pear Wreath Recipes

QUICK PEAR TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together. Lay puff pastry sheet on a work surface brush with melted butter and sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar. Cut into 6 even pieces. Fan the pear slices over the puff pastry, using 1/2 a pear for each puff pastry square. Sprinkle tops of pear tarts with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake until pastry is golden and cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from tart from oven, sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts, 5 minutes more.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and milk; stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or until firm enough to roll. , Shape into 1-in. balls. Roll in coatings as desired.

BUFFALO CHICKEN WELLINGTON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Cut a piece of parchment to fit a rimmed baking sheet. Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on the parchment, then top with the second sheet of puff pastry. Roll the 2 layers to one 17-by-13-inch rectangle.
• Combine the hot sauce and butter in a small bowl and brush both sides of the chicken cutlets with the sauce. Set aside.
• Brush the puff pastry with the remaining sauce, leaving a 1-inch border along one long side and the 2 short sides. Sprinkle the blue cheese over the sauce. Top with 4 of the mozzarella slices, shingling them if necessary to fit. Top with 3 of the cutlets. Repeat with the remaining 4 slices of mozzarella and 3 cutlets.
• Brush the 3 empty borders of puff pastry with the beaten egg. Fold over the long side without the egg wash, followed by the 2 short sides, then the other long side. Turn the Wellington over so it is seam-side down. Brush with the remaining egg and cut three 3-inch-long vents with a sharp knife on top.
• Transfer the Wellington and parchment to the baking sheet and bake until crisp and deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with ranch dressing, carrot and celery sticks, and more hot sauce.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Line cookie sheet with foil. In 2-quart saucepan, melt baking chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly; stir in butter until melted and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in whipping cream. Pour mixture into small bowl. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, just until thick enough to hold a shape.
• Drop mixture by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto lined cookie sheet. Return to refrigerator 5 to 10 minutes or until firm enough to shape. Shape into balls. Freeze uncovered 30 minutes.
• In 1-quart saucepan, heat chocolate chips and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth; remove from heat. Using 2 forks, dip and roll chocolate balls, one at a time, into melted chocolate; tap off excess chocolate. Place on lined cookie sheet. Immediately sprinkle with nuts. If chocolate has cooled too much, reheat. Repeat with remaining chocolate balls.
• Refrigerate truffles about 10 minutes or until chocolate is set. Store in covered container in refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving.

HOT CHOCOLATE PUFF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a four cup casserole dish and sprinkle with sugar.
• In a metal bowl, melt the chocolate chips over a saucepan over simmering water. Stir the chocolate until it is smooth. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and whisk in the egg yolks one at a time. Whisk in the liquor and melted butter.
• In a large bowl, Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar until they are stiff and form a peak when the beaters are lifted up from the whites. Stir 1/4 of the stiff egg whites into the chocolate mixture and mix until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, carefully fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate mixture until just combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish and bake for 12 minutes or until puffed. Serve immediately

CHOCOLATE-TRUFFLE STUFFED PEAR WREATH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the wine, granulated sugar, cinnamon sticks, star anise, vanilla bean seeds and orange zest in a medium pan over medium-high heat and bring the poaching liquid to a boil. Nestle the pear halves curved-side down in the poaching liquid (it is okay if they aren't fully submerged). Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, flip the pears over so the opposite side is now submerged and allow the pears to cool to room temperature in the poaching liquid, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, roll out a sheet of the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch square; this will be the bottom of your wreath.
• Roll out the second sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 12-by-13-inch rectangle. Trim off a 1-by-12-inch strip, then cut twelve 1-inch leaf shapes out of the dough with a paring knife. Gently press the paring knife blade into each leaf to make the impression of veins on the leaves, and set the leaves aside for later.
• Working vertically, cut a column of 1 1/2-inch vertical slits in the remaining 12-inch square of dough, leaving 1/4-inch of space in between each slit. Space a second vertical column of slits 1/2-inch from the first with the first slit of the second column starting halfway down the first slit in the first column and finishing halfway down the second slit in the first column. Continue this pattern until the entire square of dough is marked. Stack the top and bottom tart doughs and the leaves on a baking sheet with parchment between each and cover with plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge until the dough is firmer and easier to work with, about 20 minutes.
• Place the bottom piece of puff pastry on a sheet of parchment paper and assemble the tart by placing a 3-inch bowl in the center. Stuff each pear center with a chocolate truffle and arrange the 6 pear halves cut-side down with the stem ends pointing out around the bowl, leaving a 3/4-inch space between the bottom of the bowl and the bottoms of the pears.
• Brush the dough surrounding the pears with the egg white. Place the dough with the slits over the top of the pears and gently stretch it to create diamond-shaped openings. Press the dough down all around each pear to seal it. Use a paring knife to cut around the perimeter of the bowl, and remove the bowl and the central piece of dough. Press to seal that edge as well. Use your paring knife to trim the extra dough from the edges, following the outline of the pears, leaving a 1/2-inch border of the dough.
• Brush the tops of the puff with the egg white. Attach 2 leaves to the stem end of each pear, and brush those with egg wash too. Sprinkle the tart with sanding sugar. Use the parchment to carefully transfer the tart to an 18-by-13-inch baking sheet.
• Bake the tart until the pastry is risen and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.