As the months seem to be just whizzing by, I am both excited and anxious that the wedding is so close! I just feel like I have so, so much to do between now and then, but it’s all fun so nothing to truly stress out about. Recently I’ve been hearing bits and pieces of the planning process going on behind the scenes for my shower and bachelorette party. It’s all top-secret, but I know my bridesmaids have been all working together to plan an awesome weekend for me. I can’t help but feel a little guilty that they’re all putting so much time, effort, and money into a party just for me, so I wanted to do something special for them for Valentine’s Day since I’ve been thinking of them. With one vegan bridesmaid, one lactose intolerant, and one with an egg allergy, it was easiest for me to go dairy-free for the whole lot and so I made a big batch of vegan chocolate chip cookie dough truffles to send to them all. Oh, did I mention I have 9 bridesmaids?? It was a lot of chocolate!!
I’ve made cookie dough truffles before, but in the past I made them only egg-free, not truly vegan. By using vegan butter (I chose Earth Balance) and making sure the chocolate I used was dairy-free, I was able to go the extra step and respect all of the dietary needs of my ‘maids with one recipe. But if I hadn’t made a cute label for each batch that noted them as vegan, I’m pretty sure none of them would have been able to tell anyway. They were so yummy! And plus, with a few going out to California and Georgia, I didn’t have to worry about things going bad or spoiling en route. For these truffles I decided to make things extra fancy by using a silicone truffle mold so they all had very smooth surfaces and a classy look. I just painted the inside of each truffle well with chocolate, let that set in the freezer, then stuffed each one with a little ball of cookie dough, and painted over another layer of chocolate to seal it all up. Much simpler than when I made those Bailey’s Truffles because you don’t have to worry about any liquids leaking out – the dough is thick enough to stay safely inside, even if there is an imperfect seal of chocolate. And when you’re making 50+ truffles, that’s nice to know :)
In addition to the truffles, I also included a fun nail polish and a little package of Hot Tamales, my favorite candy of all time. I have seen similar little printables for Hot Tamales on Valentine’s Day on other blogs, but I made my own to match the cute heart packaging I found at Target. All my friends know my love for those spicy cinnamon candies, so it was a nice nod to their bride-to-be friend (me!) and also an excuse for me to load up on candy. For the packaging I just cut a cellophane bag to size, filled them with candies, printed out the labels, folded them over the top of the bags, and stapled everything shut. I had so much fun making these, and I’m pretty sure my friends enjoyed receiving them as well. There’s nothing quite like getting care packages in the mail, and I hope it helped send the message that I am just so thankful to have them as my bridesmaids!
If you love vegan recipes, I have to also recommend my vegan chocolate chip cookies and mocha cupcakes too. And if that’s not enough, my BFF Kori just redid her vegan/DIY blog and it’s awesome! Check her out: Paint and Tofu
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
Recipe adapted from Love and Olive Oil
Yield: About 50 truffles
Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1-1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup tbsp brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup soy or almond milk
2 packages Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate Squares (or another brand of vegan chocolate), 1 cup chopped for mixing in, the rest for the molds
Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours and salt, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the vegan butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and soy/almond milk and beat for another few minutes until well incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate by hand until well distributed.
Get a hold of a truffle mold (I used this one) and melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second intervals until completely melted, stirring well in between each round.
With a spoon or offset spatula, coat the sides and bottom of each truffle, making sure to leave a space in the center. Pop the mold in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Once done, check for any see-through spots and patch with more chocolate if necessary. Fill each truffle with a small bowl of cookie dough, and cover the bottoms with more melted chocolate. Return truffles to freezer for another 5 minutes, and then remove truffles from mold once completely set. Repeat until all of your cookie dough is used.
Oh, and if you’re wondering how I asked them all to be my bridesmaids, check out the picture below. In addition to my love for Hot Tamales, I’m also known for loving the color yellow. And before I even got engaged, my friends would tease me, “you better not make us wear yellow on your wedding!” So I decided to have a little fun and googled “ugly yellow bridesmaid dresses” to find this gem. After some photoshopping, I assembled my bridal party in all their glory, printed the slightly-creepy photos, and put them in frames with a tag asking them to be bridesmaids. Thankfully, they all agreed and as a reward they’re wearing coral instead :)
The truffles look amazing!
But my favorite part of this post was how you asked your friends to be bridesmaids. That is so creative and cute!
These look awesome! I love cookie dough desserts, and I ESPECIALLY love how you packaged these! So cute!
soooo good!
but now i have to go to the gym so i can fit into my sweet coral dress which I have yet to buy. (soon i promise!)
thank you!!!!
Erica — February 12th, 2013 @ 4:28 pm
Whitney got hers last week, making you the last maid standing! Standing naked at the altar that is…
How sweet of you to make these for your bridesmaids! And the frame idea is brilliant!
OMG!!!! These look so good! Nicely done!
So sweet! It’s a shame we don’t have cookie dough in Portugal. Seriously, those dresses are not so bad, but the shoes??? What the heck? :P
These look incredible! They look like you just bought them at a specialty chocolate shop. Love your presentation too!!
It’s so great that you’re considering all your bridesmaids!!! I’m sure it makes each of them feel really special.
9 bridesmaids?! That is gonna be one heck of a PARTAY!
I’ve heard from a number of sources that the reason raw cookie dough is bad for you is not raw egg, as most people think, but actually raw flour (see here – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/09/eating-raw-cookie-dough_n_1140260.html). You should look into a recipe that doesn’t contain raw flour.
I am also vegan. Hate to spoil your love of those hot tamales but they (along with anything with gelatin) are made with pork.