Hey friends! Hope everyone has had a great Easter Sunday…ours was filled with a wonderful church service, lunch with family and…well, that’s about it! Yay for lazy Sundays!
I wanted to share a recipe for homemade chocolate truffles with you guys tonight. You know, the kind you pay major bucks for at Godiva or another fancy chocolate shop?? Yeah, that’s the kind I’m talking about! It’s soooo easy to make gourmet truffles on your own at home. They are probably one of the first candies I ever made. I moved on to other things like homemade marshmallows, chocolate covered cherries, turtles, caramels and toffee, but honestly, there is just something so decadent and indulgent about chocolate truffles. Especially when they are made with quality ingredients.
When I first started making truffles, I really enjoyed experimenting with them. I remember how many bottles of liquor I had in my house…and NOT for drinking! Hah! No, no it was all used for candy making! It is super simple to add a little citrus zest, extract or liquor to your chocolate and get a variety of gourmet chocolates. Some of my favorites were Starbucks coffee liquors and berry liquors. Can you say YUM?? So use this recipe as a starting point and see what flavors you can add for your own homemade box of chocolates! I think once you see how easy it is, you’ll never visit a pricey chocolate shop again!
- 20 oz. Good Quality, Bittersweet Chocolate Bars, finely chopped, NOT unsweetened chocolate or 2¼ c. Dark Chocolate Chips (I prefer Ghirardelli 70% Bars or I have even used their 60% Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, but I recommend using the bars, as they melt easier than chips)
- ¾ c. Heavy Whipping Cream
- Citrus Zest, Flavored Liquor, Extracts, etc for flavoring (optional)
- Chopped chocolate, cocoa, chopped nuts, melted chocolate, flaked coconut, etc (for coating truffles)
- Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy whipping cream over medium heat just until it boils and pour it immediately over the chocolate. Let it set for 1 minutes and then stir with a spoon or spatula or whisk until completely smooth. If adding flavor, do so now. Let cool completely and then place in fridge for a couple of hours until the mixture is firm but not stiff or refrigerate overnight (if you refrigerate overnight, let it set out for about 30 minutes to it has softened just a bit and you can scoop it more easily). Using a melon baller, scoop 1" size truffles onto a large baking sheet lined with foil. If the mixture is not too soft, roll into balls with your hands. If it is too soft, place in the freezer for a few minutes to allow to firm up a bit. Once you've shaped the truffles into balls, you can roll them in chopped nuts, finely chopped chocolate, etc or dip in melted chocolate.
