Chocolate Truffles are easier to make than you might think, and can be flavored with all sorts of things. They make for a great homemade gift!

Chocolate Truffles - Homemade and Sprinkled with Extra Cocoa Stacked in a Pile

I have given these chocolate truffles as gifts to several of my friends, and they have been described as “thebomb.com” and as having healing powers (lol).   I mean, when you combine cream and chocolate, and add all sorts of magic spices or liqueurs, it’s bound to be amazing, right?

Shaved Chocolate Block

I have made truffles several times and have seen tons of variations.

Melted Chocolate in a Bowl

Some recipes include corn syrup (no thank you), some mix bittersweet and semisweet chocolate, some heat the cream in the microwave and add it to the chocolate, some melt the cream and chocolate together in a double boiler, and on and on and on.  I truly think I have found that the easiest way to do them.

Use a scooper to portion out little balls of chocolate:

Scooping Chocolate Truffles with Cookie Scoop

Drop each ball into cocoa powder, or your desired coating:

Dropping Scooped Chocolate Into Cocoa Powder

Once you shape out all your truffles, lay them on some wax or parchment paper on a flat surface, and let them harden up a bit further in the fridge, about one hour.

Cocoa Chocolate Truffles on Sheet Pan Lined with Wax paper

Eat them at room temperature or cold.  Mmmm….

Chocolate Truffles - Homemade and Sprinkled with Extra Cocoa Stacked in a Pile

Spiced and Spiked Chocolate Truffles

Servings: 12
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
Chocolate Truffles are easier to make than you might think, and can be flavored with all sorts of things. They make for a great homemade gift!
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Ingredients

  • 10 oz block semisweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • spices optional. You can use cinnamon, cloves, allspice, whatever you want
  • liqueur optional. Add some Frangelico, Amaretto, Grand Marnier, Brandy, or whatever you like. Max 2 tbsp
  • Cocoa powder nuts, or coconut for rolling

Instructions 

  • Chop the chocolate up into very small pieces.
  • If the pieces aren’t uniform, not all of the chocolate will melt, and it will be uneven. Can you use chocolate chips instead of block chocolate? If that’s all you have, then sure. But the first thing I’ll note is chocolate chips will melt more unevenly, so you may not get a smooth texture. The other thing is high quality chocolates usually come in bar form, and it’s important to use a good quality chocolate because the truffles will only be as good as the chocolate you are using.
  • Scald the cream on the stovetop in a small saucepan over medium high heat. You should see steam rising and bubbles forming around the sides when it’s at scalding temperature (or you can just use an instant read thermometer to make it easy, 180 degrees F and it’s done). Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate, and let it sit for 60 seconds before you stir. Stir the chocolate and cream until it’s smooth in texture.
  • Spread the chocolate out in a pyrex plate or glass baking dish, then stick it in the refrigerator. Here’s the tough part. You want to refrigerate the chocolate enough so it’s pliable and you are able to work with it, but if it hardens up too much, you won’t be able to shape it (and if this happens to you, leave your chocolate out at room temperature until you can work with it again). This time depends on the temperature of your refrigerator and how spread out your chocolate is. I would say put your chocolate in the fridge and start checking the consistency after 45 minutes.
  • Rolling the truffles can be messy, because the heat from your hands melts the chocolate. I think the easiest way to do this is to use a disher to scoop out the chocolate, drop it into the cocoa powder (or nuts or coconut, whatever your rolling garnish is), and then shape it. That way, your hands have direct contact with the nuts, coconut flakes, or cocoa powder and not with the chocolate, so it’s less like to melt and get all over the place.
  • Once you shape out all your truffles, lay them on some wax or parchment paper on a flat surface, and let them harden up a bit further in the fridge, about one hour. Eat them at room temperature or cold. Mmmm….

Nutrition

Calories: 149kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 6mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Joanne Ozug