Welcome to the last week of the Fall Cookie & Dessert Share-fest. Today, I’m sharing an Orange Flavored Chocolate Bonbon recipe that I found in a Better Home s and Garden Cookbook. If you like sweet and rich desserts…this one is for you!

So what is a bonbon you ask? Well,  the word “bonbon” stems from the French word “bon”, which means “good”. Thus, “bonbon” means something that is doubly good and is the perfect universal name for many candies in France. Bonbons are basically any sweet treat that is thinly coated in chocolate. So, a lollipop or fruit dipped in chocolate could be referred to as a bonbon. Who knew?!

For this recipe, I used Mimosa in place of the orange juice to give this a little kick and also because it was the drink I had in the refrigerator at the time 🙂 Plus, I added in some orange emulsion for added orange flavor, which isn’t necessary, but I wanted a little more orange flavor in the mix. The added orange flavor just reminded me of those yummy chocolate dipped candied oranges that you find in fancy candy stores. For the nuts, you can use walnuts or pecans.

Keep 1/2 a cup of the nuts on the side.  Pulse the cookies until it is crushed. Add in the remaining ingredients, except the chocolate and lard in a food processor. Pulse just until the liquids are incorporated and the remaining added nuts are coarsely chopped.

Keep in mind that this isn’t the same as cake balls. Since there is no cream cheese, the mixture will look a little dry, but will hold together when firmly shaped into 1 inch round balls. Try to keep the balls on the small side so that they can be eaten in just one bite because larger balls will tend to crumble. This treat really should be more like a cookie and not a cake like texture.

Place round balls onto a baking pan that is lined with parchment paper.  You can leave the balls as is or place lollipop sticks into them. Personally, I prefer no sticks, but my daughter likes them with. After all the balls are prepared, place them into the freezer for 30 minutes.

While the balls are in the freezer, melt the chocolate and the lard in a double boiler or in a bowl over boiling water over medium-low heat. When the chocolate is melted, lower the heat to the lowest settings. Take the balls out of the freezer and hand dip each ball by dunking them into the chocolate or you can cover the entire ball by rolling in the chocolate. Place the dipped balls back onto the parchment lined baking sheet and return the freezer for 5-10 or until the chocolate is set.

Make some hot coffee and serve these Orange Flavored Chocolate Bonbons cold or leave out for a few minutes to soften.  Bon appétit!

Don’t forget to check out more wonderful recipes from our Fall Cookie & Dessert Share-fest below.

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