One of my friends asked about favorite chocolate dessert recipes. So I had to go all overkill and do a post. Cuz that's just what I do. Following is what I used to make for Christmas Gifts, prior to the d-word and I just can't have truffles in the house without eating them. At All. So I'll share the technique and recipe here and wish you well, young one. The picture above is just plain funny. The pic below is a bad one of my hubbs spreading this same recipe on a layer of peppermint studded white chocolate for Peppermint Truffle Bark. What's better than men spreading chocolate on more chocolate? Not much. Keep reading:
Truffles of Doom
About 10 ounces dark-black as you can get chocolate,
a splash of cream or lowfat milk, depending on how rich you want.
About 2 tbsp coffee, or rum, or kahlua, whatever, more booze = less cream/milk/Eggnog(YES)
about a tblsp of butter
My recipe morphed from Master Alton Brown linked below, but has been modified to create a truffle that doesn't need to be dipped, and is a lot stiffer than the Masters. This could be the student exceeding the Master, or pure laziness because dipping them is a pita and messy. I am unable to do it without wasting good chocolate. That could, or should, be considered a crime in some places.
Throw the chips and butter in a microwave safe measuring cup or glass bowl. Glass seems to conduct and retain heat better imo, and I never like heating plastic in the microwave.
Heat at 20 second intervals at 50% power, stirring in between heatings. It wouldn't be overly cautious to do it 15 seconds instead, the slower on the heating thing, the better. But it doesn't really take all that long, once the butter melts. It will take 4 or 5 times, maybe more but scorching is another chocolate crime so watch out.
Just before the chips are totally melted, like when a handfull of them looking like mini m&m's, take out and stir till they are fully melted. Should look like a nice thick pudding, and shiny. Add your pre-selected and properly tested liquid, be it booze or eggnog, about a teaspoon at a time. If it gets all grainy be patient, just add more liquid, but at like a teaspoon(or less) at a time, it's easy to overdo it. But also super easy to fix it, so fear not, Grasshopper. The beauty of it is, overdoing the liquid requires more chips which means more truffles. Just be patient with it, it doesn't take long, but it's easy to throw it out, thinking you effed it up, like I did a number of times. I shudder to think of all the chocolate I wasted(crime), it was like 20 ounces! ugh, 'shudders'. Just keep stirring and it will even out.
Throw the chips and butter in a microwave safe measuring cup or glass bowl. Glass seems to conduct and retain heat better imo, and I never like heating plastic in the microwave.
Heat at 20 second intervals at 50% power, stirring in between heatings. It wouldn't be overly cautious to do it 15 seconds instead, the slower on the heating thing, the better. But it doesn't really take all that long, once the butter melts. It will take 4 or 5 times, maybe more but scorching is another chocolate crime so watch out.
Just before the chips are totally melted, like when a handfull of them looking like mini m&m's, take out and stir till they are fully melted. Should look like a nice thick pudding, and shiny. Add your pre-selected and properly tested liquid, be it booze or eggnog, about a teaspoon at a time. If it gets all grainy be patient, just add more liquid, but at like a teaspoon(or less) at a time, it's easy to overdo it. But also super easy to fix it, so fear not, Grasshopper. The beauty of it is, overdoing the liquid requires more chips which means more truffles. Just be patient with it, it doesn't take long, but it's easy to throw it out, thinking you effed it up, like I did a number of times. I shudder to think of all the chocolate I wasted(crime), it was like 20 ounces! ugh, 'shudders'. Just keep stirring and it will even out.
Only a session of frantic stirring so you don't screw the pooch at a party when you were bragging about how great your truffles are will teach you that more liquid, maybe warming it again and patience is a good thing. Because you don't have anymore chocolate and can't go get more (crime) so you have to make this work. And it did. Lesson learned. The truffle chocolate turned out fine, fyi, no sending the feds to my house.
Put the whole bowl in the fridge for 1-3 (or more) hours, covered by a paper towel. No plastic here, condensation is a bad, bad, bad idea. Did I mention it was a bad idea? Yes? Good, moving on. When fully cooled, use that nice cookie scooper, or melon baller(could never get this to work), or just regular teaspoon to make small(ish), round(ish) balls of awesome, put them on a cookie sheet, parchment's never a bad idea here either. Back in the fridge, at least an hour. Tasting for poison here is acceptable. If you hand roll, be fast, and only after at least half an hour in the fridge. Your hand heat will melt this stuff quicker than you think. Licking your palms is optional but must be done at the end of said hand rolling. I use gloves (slower heat transfer) but never get too fancy here. It's chocolate people, if someone really is worried about receiving a less than perfectly round home made truffle, then they just don't deserve one and you should eat it.
I haven't tested out the margarine or low/no sugar option and believe me...the Truffles of Doom will find a way into my newly diabetic life. Just not this year. *Shakes fist at sky*
Trust in yourself, youngling. Easy to make, truffles are.
Check out the link for the pre-morphed recipe: Master Alton provides a totally easy, and I wish I would have read the whole thing myself, way to coat them with chocolate.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-truffles-recipe/index.html
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