Enjoy pumpkin pie in a single bite, covered by delicious dark chocolate. These Pumpkin Truffles are the perfect fall treat!
Original post: August 2018 | Updated: September 2020
Why This Recipe Works
Every year after our Thanksgiving feast, I cut myself a teeny tiny slice of pumpkin pie. I enjoy it, but an entire piece can be too much. Which is why I love pumpkin desserts with minimal bits of pumpkin.
Pumpkin Truffles have the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor. They are a perfect replacement for pumpkin pie for people like myself who may not love eating big helpings.
If you are looking for a toned-down version of pumpkin pie that you can easily eat in a single bite, these truffles need to be put on your fall menu pronto!
I love coating them with a really good quality dark chocolate, but almond bark or white chocolate taste great, too.
Recipe Ingredients
Pumpkin puree – You can purchase a can of pumpkin puree for this recipe. Or consider making your own pumpkin puree in your Instant Pot.
Cream cheese – This recipe calls for softened cream cheese when making frosting so the easiest way to prepare it is to take it out of the paper wrapper, open the block from the packaging and allow it to sit out for 10-15 minutes on the counter. If you press a spoon into it, it should give easily.
Cinnamon graham crackers – You can purchase pre-crushed graham crackers at your local grocery store. If have whole crackers on hand, you can place them in a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
Pumpkin pie spice – If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice mixture on hand, you can combine 2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger and 1 tsp allspice, cloves and nutmeg.
Dark chocolate chips – I personally like using a really good quality chocolate (like Ghirardelli) for recipes like this one for a smoother, creamier texture. White chocolate or a candy coating (almond bark) would be a great replacement for dark chocolate!
How To Make Pumpkin Truffles
Step 1
Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), combine the cream cheese, confectioners sugar, pumpkin, 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs and pumpkin pie spice and beat until creamy.
Place bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Step 2
Place a piece of wax paper on a baking sheet. Remove the bowl from the fridge and form the mixture into balls using your hands. They should be approximately 1 inch in diameter.
Place onto the prepared baking sheet. When all of the balls have been formed, place the baking sheet into the fridge for 20 minutes.
Step 3
Pour the chocolate chips into a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals (stirring after each) until creamy. Add pumpkin balls to the melted chocolate and roll around until covered.
Remove with a fork and place back onto the wax paper. When finished, refrigerate for 1 hour (minimum) before serving!
Recipe Notes
- The smaller you roll the balls of pumpkin, the easier they are to roll in the chocolate (and the easier they are to eat). Aim for a 1-inch ball, maybe even a touch smaller.
- Store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. The chocolate will get soft if they sit at room temperature for too long.
- Make sure you freeze the pumpkin mixture for a minimum of 20 minutes before rolling into balls, but for no longer than 30 minutes. It needs to be hard enough for rolling, but not completely frozen.
- Use a fork as a dipping tool for coating the pumpkin mixture in chocolate.
What to Make With Pumpkin Puree
Aside from the obvious (pie!), you might be wondering what to make with pumpkin puree so you can use up all of those scrumptious cans! Read on for some delicious pumpkin puree recipes!
FAQ About Pumpkin Puree
Pumpkin puree can be eaten raw. However, it is not necessarily delicious until you have added the ingredients to a recipe you are including it in.
Pumpkin puree can be frozen. Add the puree to an air tight container and you can safely freeze it for 4-5 months.
Good news! Pumpkin puree is full of healthy vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It’s low calorie and it’s a benefit to your eyes, heart and skin.
Pumpkin puree can go bad after you open it and remove it from the can. If you don’t need to use up the entire batch with baking, then you can put the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate it for 3-5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze it for 2-3 months in the same container to use it later.
Pumpkin puree is known to be a good addition to a dog’s diet. Fresh pumpkin puree has a lot of water in it so canned pumpkin puree will offer the most fiber, nutrients and vitamins to their diet.
Delicious Pumpkin Recipes
I hope you enjoy these delicious pumpkin bars! Did I mention how good your house will smell while they’re baking? For more delicious pumpkin fall treats, check out these delicious recipes!
- Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Best Pumpkin Bars
- Pumpkin Layer Cake
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
Perfect Fall Treats
- Don’t let those delicious little pumpkin seeds go to waste. Instead put them to use for a healthy snack! Season them, roast them, they’re easy to make!
- Halloween snack mix is a great Fall snack to have on hand. It is perfect for a handful on the run or a great snack for kiddos after school!
- The only thing better than salted caramel apples is salted caramel apple cheesecake! This is the perfect fall treat and a great way to use up any type of apples.
- Best apple crisp is tried, tested and NEVER fails! It is the perfect way to use up apples in the fall. It also tastes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
- Salted caramel apple cupcakes are the tastiest way to use up apples! Salted caramel oozes over apple cupcakes that are topped with apple-infused icing. These are irresistible!
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Pumpkin Truffles Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 1/2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (15 graham crackers)
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 12 oz dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), combine the cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, graham cracker crumbs and pumpkin pie spice and beat until creamy. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Place a piece of wax paper on a baking sheet. Remove the bowl from the fridge and form 1-inch balls from the pumpkin mixture using your hands. Place onto the prepared baking sheet. When all of the balls have been formed, place the baking sheet into the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Pour the chocolate chips into a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals (stirring after each) until creamy. Drop each pumpkin ball into the melted chocolate and roll around until covered. Remove with a fork and place back onto the wax paper. When finished, refrigerate until ready to serve!
Video
Notes
- The smaller you roll the balls of pumpkin, the easier they are to roll in the chocolate (and the easier they are to eat). Aim for a 1-inch ball, maybe even a touch smaller.
- Store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. The chocolate will get soft if they sit at room temperature for too long.
- Make sure you freeze the pumpkin mixture for a minimum of 20 minutes before rolling into balls, but for no longer than 30 minutes. It needs to be hard enough for rolling, but not completely frozen.
- I personally like using a really good quality chocolate (like Ghirardelli) for recipes like this one for a smoother, creamier texture.
- White chocolate or a candy coating (almond bark) would be a great replacement for dark chocolate!
- Use a fork as a dipping tool for coating the pumpkin mixture in chocolate.
WOW these look amazing and very delicious too. I can’t wait to make these. The Lady above me does’t like Cream Cheese, well what about Marscapone cheese? It is Italian cream cheese but a little bit sweeter. I use it a lot. maybe that might be helpful
Hi Donna, I haven’t tried another cheese in preparing these yummy dessert balls but I think mascarpone would be a great first choice. Let us know if you prepare them with it and how you like them!
What can I substitute the cream cheese with because I don’t like cream cheese in anything sweet.
You really can’t taste the cream cheese but the consistency does make the ingredients stick together and stay creamy. But I think that ricotta cheese would work ok, but maybe not as sticky as it would with cream cheese.
These look incredible thank you i’m making these babies!
Oooh, good! You’ll enjoy them!