Chocolate Truffles

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and what better way to say "I love you" than a batch of homemade truffles? Well, I could think of a few things, but this is a G-rated blog, so I'm not going there. This would be a good addition to any other clever ideas that you might have for Valentine's Day. I took these to a church function tonight, and everyone that tried them really seemed to love them. It's hard not to! Their texture is perfect.

My husband actually found this recipe years ago in a cookbook that I don't ever remember purchasing, but I'm glad he attempted them one Christmas many a-year ago. They are sure to bring a smile to anyone's face. :)

Chocolate Truffles:

source: Williams-Sonoma Dessert Cookbook

4 oz bitter-sweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet)

1/3 c heavy whipping cream

2 T butter

1 T sour cream

1/4 t vanilla

pinch of salt

Finely chop the chocolate. Put in the top part of a double-broiler. Well, I'm not all fancy, so I don't have one. I used a regular pot and put a stainless steel bowl over the simmering water.

Add the cream.
Let the chocolate melt over the simmering water until it is shiny and smooth. Remove it from the heat. Let it sit for about five minutes until the mixture is luke-warm.

You can't see it here, but add the sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Stir well.
Cut the butter into four equal parts and stir until it is melted.
Llet it cool for about 40 minutes.

Once it is cool, put it in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch tip and pipe it on a parchment paper-lined plate. Again, I didn't have a pastry bag because I'm too cheap to buy one. I used a Ziplock bag and cut the corner off. Squeeze the chocolate out to make about 24 truffles.

Freeze them for 1 1/2 hours. Take them out and roll in whatever you'd like. In this picture, I rolled some in mini chocolate chips, some in chopped almonds, and some in cocoa powder. The original recipe actually calls for chopped pistachios to roll them in. That is very good, too! I have done powdered sugar, sprinkles, coconut, and pecans. They are just fine plain, but it's neat to see all the different coating on them.
Serve them on a platter, and watch them disappear!

Make sure you keep them in the fridge until you are ready to eat them.