Five Easy Truffle Recipes

By lorik

Wear latex gloves when forming the truffles to keep your hands clean.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Pinch salt

Details

Servings 24
Adapted from cookscountry.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Sift cocoa and sugar through fine-mesh strainer into pie plate. Microwave chocolate, cream, and salt in bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until melted, about 1 minute. Stir truffle mixture until fully combined; transfer to 8-inch square baking dish and refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes.

2. Using heaping teaspoon measure, scoop truffle mixture into 24 portions, transfer to large plate, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Roll each truffle between your hands to form uniform balls (balls needn’t be perfect).

3. Transfer truffles to cocoa mixture and roll to evenly coat. Lightly shake truffles in your hand over pie plate to remove excess coating; transfer to platter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. (Coated truffles can be refrigerated along with excess cocoa mixture in airtight container for up to 1 week. Shake truffles in your hand to remove excess coating and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.)

Chocolate Almond Truffles: Substitute 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted and chopped fine, for cocoa mixture coating. Add 1/2 tsp almond extract to chocolate before microwaving.

Chocolate Cinnamon Truffles: Sift 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon with cocoa powder and sugar for coating. Add 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper to chocolate before microwaving.

Chocolate Ginger Truffles: Add 2 tsp ground ginger to chocolate before microwaving.

Chocolate Lemon Truffles: Add 1 tsp grated lemon zest to chocolate mixture before microwaving.