My gift to you…Eggnog Truffles!

12 oz. white baking chocolate, divided (get the good stuff!)
8 oz. dark baking chocolate (I love Ghirardelli’s Bittersweet 60%)
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (plus more for sprinkling)
1/4 tsp. rum extract (or the real stuff)

1. Melt 8 oz. of the white chocolate as directed on the package (I do the double-boiler method). Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, nutmeg and extract in a large bowl on medium speed until smooth. Add melted white chocolate; beat until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (needs to be firm).

2. Shape into 24 (3/4-inch-ish) balls. Place on wax paper-lined tray. Refrigerate 30 min.

3. Just before removing the balls from the fridge, melt the dark chocolate as directed (I just nuke it). Using 2 forks, lift and dip 1 truffle at a time into the melted chocolate. Tap/scrape back of fork 2 or 3 times against edge of dish to allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place truffles on wax paper-lined tray (or as you can see I put mine in those nifty little mini-liners).  At this point, dab some chocolate on any boo-boos (exposed areas) to keep things looking pretty. {TIP: Your first go-round, you may want to split this into 2 batches, melting only 4 oz. of the dark chocolate at a time.  Once you get your speed down you can do the whole shebang at once.}

4. Melt the remaining white chocolate.  Place in a pastry bag, or do like me and put it in a sandwich bag and clip off a wee bit of a corner.  Dollop a bit on top of each truffle, then sprinkle with nutmeg.

5. Refrigerate 1 more hour or until chocolate is set. Store truffles between layers of wax paper in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week (they won’t last that long, but just in case).

ENJOY!

(adapted from McCormick’s)