Mixed Nut Balls

by steve gisselbrecht

These are one of my favorites: incredibly delicious and (except for the tempering) very, very easy. I like to use a 50-50 combination of Ghirardelli bittersweet and Valrhona Guanaja to dip these, since the center is kind of sweet.

Ingredients

7 oz. marzipan
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup roasted unsalted macadamias, coarsely chopped
~1 lb. bittersweet chocolate

Instructions

Knead together the first three ingredients until thoroughly blended, then mix in the chopped nuts until the whole mess holds together. Roll the nut mixture into 1/2 - 3/4 inch balls.

Temper the chocolate. Dip the centers into tempered melted chocolate, let the excess drain off, and drop them onto paper to solidify. (I use baking parchment; waxed paper or even copier paper is okay.) The texture will be best the next day.