Like a lot. It's right up there with shoes and pedicures (no joke). And though this means I have to work out whole bunches to allow for such a habit, its completely worth it.
Over the past couple of days I've been preparing for my new job - teaching hormone-raging, prepubescent 7th graders science. The anxiety the preparation brings can lead to a few things: alcoholism, compulsive shopping, or chocolate bingeing. Yesterday I decided to go for the chocolate, so I found this recipe for truffles.
Making truffles is surprisingly easy. However, you do need good chocolate; your truffles are only as good as your chocolate.
I mixed chocolate because I already had a few ounces of semi-sweet baking chocolate laying around. For the last 4 ounces I bought some Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking chocolate. Very yummy, and especially awesome when trying to impress the in-laws... ya, did I mention we're driving to Nashville today??
The first thing you need to do is chop up all the chocolate. Make sure it's at room temperature when you begin because that will not only make it easier to chop, but it will melt faster as well. I don't know... my Granny keeps her baking chocolate in the freezer right next to her whipping cream, and so do I (not the whipping cream), so if you are like us, take it out of the freezer.
This was the part I was afraid I was going to mess up. Anytime I have to watch something carefully so it barely gets hot and doesn't burn, I get nervous.
Thankfully it came off without a hitch. You only need to heat the cream and butter till the butter melts and the cream just begins to boil. So don't leave it, and keep stirring it. This should only take a few minutes anyway.
Letting the hot cream sit on the chocolate for awhile is a good idea. This lets the chocolate melt a bit before you stir. Those are seriously the only three ingredients for basic truffles. I was excited considering I usually have these things sitting around!
Doesn't it look amazing? I could have just eaten it this way, oh wait... I did! It's very rich, but it needed one more thing...
A magical ingredient that was supposed to (and will) accompany some Mahi Mahi very soon: Puerto Rican rum.
The unfortunate part of this whole process (which was supposed to relieve stress mind you) was that I do not own a melon-baller or a tiny ice cream scoop (who would want an ice cream scoop that small anyway?). All I had was two hands (still do) and a teaspoon.
So... I know they are ugly (see my fingerprints??), but what's more important than eating with your eyes?
Eating with your mouth, duh.
And I most certainly did. They are sweet, creamy, and very rich! They also have delicious rum in them. If your not into that kind of thing - you should be.
I'm kidding, you can add vanilla into the melted chocolate instead.
I rolled some of them in powdered sugar... I needed a melon-baller sooooo badly. The chocolate was melting in my hands as I tried to roll them. So when they hit the sugar, it was absorbed and they ended up looking like dalmatian truffles instead...
Oh well, live and learn, and then go buy a melon-baller.
As far as I'm concerned they tasted amazing. A romantic treat, but also good for nursing the nerves that follow making up classroom rules for crazy teenagers who already know everything anyway...
Chocolate Rum Truffles (recipe courtesy of JoyofBaking.com)
1/2 Cup whipping cream (you can also use heavy whipping cream if this isn't rich enough for you)
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
8 oz. good semi-sweet chocolate (or bitter sweet chocolate)
2 tablespoons alcohol of your choice (rum, Cognac, Grand Marnier, bourbon, Kahlua... )
Cocoa powder, confectioners sugar, toasted coconut, or toasted nuts to coat the outside
1. Cut up chocolate into small pieces. Be sure the chocolate is at room temperature.
2. Warm butter and whipping cream on the stove for a few minutes, stirring constantly, till the butter has melted and the cream is just beginning to boil.
3. Pour cream mixture over the cut up chocolate, and allow to sit for a moment. Then stir the chocolate and cream mixture till it becomes smooth. If the chocolate has not completely melted, put the bowl in the microwave for 20 seconds then stir again. Repeat this till the chocolate melts completely and the chocolate is smooth.
4. After the chocolate has completely melted, add 2 tablespoons of whatever alcohol you would like, or 1 tablespoon of vanilla and stir till liquid is fully incorporated.
5. Put the chocolate in the fridge for an hour or two till the chocolate has solidified again (you could even leave it in there over night).
6. Use a melon-baller or small ice cream scoop to form small chocolate truffles. I used my hands to form them into balls, but they melt... it was very messy. You may want to place them on wax paper at this point and put them back in the fridge to firm up again. I didn't do this, but it may help the coating not look so beat up when you roll them in it.
6. Roll in desired coating (I used powdered sugar and cocoa.)
Enjoy!
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