11 Best Christmas Truffles Recipes To Make This Year

If you're considering making some Christmas candies this holiday season, truffles are way easier than you might expect. And this list of Christmas Truffles Recipes has the best flavors! You’ll be tempted to make them all!

Fun French Food Fact: Chocolate truffles were invented accidentally when the apprentice of the legendary French chef George Escoffier accidentally poured hot cream into a bowl of chocolate. He inadvertently created what we now call ganache, the creamy center of traditional truffles. Today, over 100 years later, they are still a popular Parisian treat.

Classic truffles are chocolate based—dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate. But nowadays, they can come in almost any flavor. And what we may have called bonbons in the past are now being called truffles in the present. This list has applied the looser definition of truffles to include the most delicious assortment of sweet treats.

A variety of Christmas Truffles recipes — Make a few Christmas truffles recipes this year and everyone will be happy.

The best part: Homemade Christmas truffles are easy-to-make, scrumptious, no-bake treats! Most of these holiday truffle recipes take only 20 to 30 minutes of prep time. The more elaborately decorated ones take only a little bit longer.

In addition, holiday truffles are a great idea for gifts. They’re also perfect for Christmas parties, as they can be made weeks ahead of time if they are then stored in an airtight container.

And truffles always look festive on a dessert table alongside your Christmas fudge, holiday cookies, and other tasty treats.

For more holiday dessert ideas and recipes read:
Italian Christmas Cookies
Mexican Cookies
Greek Desserts 
Italian Christmas Desserts 

Christmas Truffles Recipes

How easy is it to make truffles? Very! You may be surprised to learn you don’t need a candy thermometer for any of the Christmas truffle recipes below.

The basic truffle recipe is very simple: Make a candy ball and then dip it in melted chocolate of some kind.

You will find a variety of ways to melt chocolate in these recipes. Simply use whichever one works best for you.

Here are the top 3 methods: 
1. Microwave chocolate on medium heat in a microwave-safe bowl (recommended). 
2. Heat on low heat in a sauce pan. 
3. Use a double boiler.

The one thing all of these recipes for Christmas truffles require—a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Easy!

1. Chocolate Truffles Recipe

Chocolate Truffles for Christmas — Chocolate Truffles. Photo by Flavor the Moments

Main ingredients: bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate baking wafers, unsalted butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and optional decorating cocoa powder, peanuts, coconut, or Christmas sprinkles.

For the chocolate lover, homemade chocolate truffles are the ideal gift. And for the gift giver, AKA truffles maker, it’s nice to know that you only need four ingredients to make the rich chocolate mixture base.

Not only is this a no-bake recipe, you don’t even need a stove. The chocolate is melted in the microwave on medium heat.

Once you have formed your truffle mixture into balls, roll chocolate Christmas truffles in different toppings. You can roll truffle balls in pretty much anything, like cocoa powder—the most traditional—nuts, crushed candy canes, or red and green sprinkles. 
Chocolate Truffles Recipe 

2. White Chocolate Raspberry Truffles

Main ingredients: White chocolate chips, heavy cream, butter, seedless raspberry jam, raspberry extract, and dried raspberries (optional).

These creamy truffles have a raspberry center coated in melted white chocolate. The red and white colors make these festive treats a great addition to holiday dessert platters.

The optional dried raspberries for this truffle recipe can be used to create raspberry dust to sprinkle on top of the candies. If you don’t have dried raspberries, a few red candy sprinkles will also do the trick.

The recipe recommends a make-shift double boiler to melt the white chocolate. If you don’t have a bowl and saucepan that will work, you can use the microwave melting method introduced in the Chocolate Truffles recipe above. 
White Chocolate Raspberry Truffles Recipe 

3. Sugar Cookie Truffles 

With a little coconut, Sugar Cookie Truffles make great snowballs.

Main ingredients: Sugar cookies, cream cheese, white chocolate chips, and festive sprinkles.

If you’re looking for an easy Christmas truffles recipe, this one is probably the easiest. You need just three ingredients to make the actual truffles plus festive sprinkles for decoration.

Don’t waste homemade sugar cookies on this recipe; store-bought cookies actually work better. They need to be a little crispy in order for the food processor to make them crumbly.
Sugar Cookie Truffles Recipe

4. Peppermint Oreo Truffles

Main ingredients: Oreo cookies, cream cheese, chocolate almond bark, and peppermint candy melts.

Another holiday truffle recipe made from cookies, these Peppermint Oreo Truffles have a satisfying chocolate-peppermint flavor. They are made similarly to the Sugar Cookie Truffles, but this cream cheese mixture uses peppermint Oreos.

Instead of leaving cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve, surprise him with some peppermint Christmas truffles instead. I bet he’ll love them! 
Peppermint Oreo Truffles Recipe

5. Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles

Main ingredients: Gingerbread or ginger cookies, cream cheese, and dark chocolate

What’s the best way to incorporate gingerbread into your Christmas? Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles! And this easy recipe makes it so simple!

The original recipe for these holiday truffles uses dark chocolate as the outer layer, which is pretty yummy. But I actually prefer to dip the truffles in melted white chocolate.

If you’re on the fence, consider doing half in the dark chocolate coating and the other half in white chocolate. 
Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles Recipe

6. Christmas Present Oreo Truffles

Main ingredients: Chocolate Oreo cookies, red velvet Oreo cookies, cream cheese, red candy melts, green candy melts, and white candy melts.

Here’s one more cookie truffle recipe. This one uses chocolate and red velvet Oreos. This has got to be the most Christmassy truffle recipe of all time.

These truffles make a very impressive gift, because they not only look like a gift, they taste like a dream.

The concept for these is similar to what you’ll find in the other cookie truffles, but instead of rolling truffle balls in the palms of your hands, you make little cubes.

The decorating does take a bit more time, but the finished truffles make it all worth it. Bring them to any holiday party and you will be a hero.

Just make sure you store these truffles in a single layer; no stacking. 
Christmas Present Oreo Truffles Recipe

7. Hazelnut Espresso Truffles

Main ingredients: Chocolate, heavy whipping cream, espresso powder, chocolate extract, hazelnuts, unsweetened cocoa powder, and vegetable shortening.

Need a Christmas truffle recipe for a coffee lover? Hazelnut Espresso Truffles fill the bill. Chocolate, hazelnuts, and coffee make a winning combination! And I love how there’s a whole hazelnut inside every one of these decadent treats.

Pro tip: I do not recommend substituting instant coffee for espresso powder. The powder needs to be really fine, like what you find in King Arthur Baking’s espresso powder. If your local grocery store doesn’t carry it, you can purchase some online. 
Hazelnut Espresso Truffles Recipe 

8. Peanut Butter Bon Bons 

Main ingredients: Peanut butter, semisweet chocolate and/or butterscotch chips, butter, powdered sugar, and crispy rice cereal.

I have a few friends that swoon over peanut butter and chocolate, and I am making these Peanut Butter Bonbons for them this year. Truth be told, I am also a swooner, so I’ll be making extra.

In fact, it is taking all my willpower to keep writing and not go into the kitchen to whip these up right now! 
Peanut Butter Bon Bons Recipe

9. Chocolate Covered Cherries

Main ingredients: Maraschino cherries, butter, corn syrup, amaretto liqueur, powdered sugar, dark chocolate, and almond bark chocolate.

If you grew up drinking Shirley Temples like I did, you’ve probably considered Maraschino cherries a treat. However, the drinks usually only had one cherry per glass, always leaving me wanting more.

Chocolate Covered Cherries are a great way to get your fill of cherries! Adorned with mini holly leaves, these candies couldn’t be cuter. They make thoughtful homemade gifts for anyone who’s ever enjoyed a Shirley Temple.
Chocolate Covered Cherries Recipe

10. Chestnut Chocolate Truffles

Main ingredients: Bittersweet chocolate, unsalted butter, superfine sugar (caster sugar), vanilla extract, and chestnuts.

The Italian side of my family toasted chestnuts at Christmastime. And chestnuts are included in both sweet and savory dishes of Italian cuisine. I’ve had them as a street food in Rome, in a cake at a restaurant in Lucca, and as a snack while visiting Bologna.

I’ve even enjoyed them in traditional dishes of Tuscany after walking the forests in that gorgeous part of Italy and seeing fallen chestnuts strewn all over the ground.

In other words, Chestnut Chocolate Truffles make the perfect Christmas dessert for anyone dreaming of an Italian Christmas—like I am.  
Chestnut Chocolate Truffles Recipe

11. Dark Chocolate Billionaires

Main ingredients: Caramels, pecans, Rice Krispies, and dark chocolate melting wafers.

I am a big fan of anything with caramel. Add in pecans and crunchy Rice Krispies and cover those candy balls in rich dark chocolate, and I’ll be standing next to that candy bowl all night. 

This Dark Chocolate Billionaires recipe doesn’t call for any festive decorations on top of the truffles, but feel free to add a dusting of powdered sugar, coconut flake, or sprinkles. 
Dark Chocolate Billionaires

Tips for Christmas Truffles Recipes  

I hope you found a few recipes for truffles that you can’t wait to try!

If it’s your first time making truffles for the holidays, I have a few tips that may help you.

Prepared Pan

Have your parchment-lined baking sheet ready before you begin your recipe.

Forming Truffles

Use a small cookie scoop so that all of your truffles come out the same size. The more uniform your bonbons, the better the presentation.

Chocolate

Whether a recipe uses wafers, chocolate bars, or mini chocolate chips, these are interchangeable. Just make sure to always use a high-quality chocolate.

In addition, the type of chocolate is also up to you. If you only like milk chocolate, then substitute that for dark in any recipe.

Coating Truffles

I find dipping the candy balls into the melted chocolate on a fork the best way. Then use a toothpick or cocktail stick to roll the ball on to the parchment paper.

Decorations

Take a look in the baking aisle of your local grocery store for unique decorating ideas.

Storing Truffles 

Truffles are best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

Happy Holidays!