When I write about recipes every week, I normally tell you about my friends and family, who step in as guinea pigs to try all of my concoctions.
And normally, I tell you how they really liked it or about the lack of leftovers after I present them with a plate of something new.
But I have to admit this week that of the three family members I tried this out on—my sister, brother-in-law and two-year-old niece—I was only successful with two-thirds of the crowd.
The adults loved the lemon-based dessert I brought for a shared meal.
My niece, on the other hand, was not impressed. She was a lot happier with the store-bought cookies I brought as a backup, though, so she forgave my after-dinner failure.
Regardless of not pleasing the toddler palate, I still decided to share this recipe with you this week, which comes from the blog “Premeditated Leftovers.” You can find it at https://premeditatedleftovers.com/recipes-cooking-tips/easy-lemon-truffle-recipe/. I added a bit more lemon juice and zest in my version.
Easy Lemon Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 lemon cake mix
- 7 tablespoons butter melted
- juice of one lemon
- zest of one lemon
- 3/4 cup sugar divided
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest and 1/2 cup sugar until everything is well incorporated.
- Place the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small bowl.
- Roll the dough mixture into about one-inch balls and then roll them in the bowl of sugar.
- Store the finished truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about an hour to set up before serving.
I would argue that these weren’t overly sweet or sour—they were just in the middle—and I was glad I added just a bit of extra lemon to cut the sweetness.
I will also warn you that this doesn’t make a lot of truffles. I got around a dozen and a half out of mine, so if you’re looking for more volume, I highly recommend doubling this one.
And, if you’re planning on supplying treats for children, I can tell you from my experience that this may not be a good go-to recipe. Apparently, it’s more well-suited for adult tastebuds, and if it would hurt your feelings to watch a toddler screw up their face in disgust after trying your cooking, beware of sharing this one with anyone still in diapers.
In the end, though, this recipe was a slam dunk with my sister and brother-in-law, and they even requested that I leave the leftovers behind when I went home.
If I had to guess, that was half because they enjoyed them, and half because they knew they wouldn’t have to share.
This piece first appeared in print on March 5, 2020.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
