Chocolate Truffles

Every year I donate to the Grace Christian Academy (GCA) Dinner Auction. Its a fundraiser to help support the costs of running the school. This year, in addition to donations, I'm making a dessert for them to auction off after dinner. However, since Jeff and I will be heading out of town during the dinner auction, I needed something I could make ahead of time that would stay fresh for a couple days. I called my mom in a half-panic.. "What can I make that will still taste delicious a couple days later?" She offered to give me an amazing chocolate torte recipe.. but the ingredient list involved many items I do not have {okay mainly brandy...} and I don't own a spring-form pan. So instead I reverted to truffles.

Truffles may sound daunting to many of you.. but I've made them a handful of times, and never had any complaints on them. I'm sure you're all super excited to make your own truffles now.. so here's the recipe. {Recipe from the pioneer woman.}

Truffle Main Ingredients
Delicious chocolate - I used 8oz of Ghiradeli semi-sweet and 8oz of Ghiradeli 60% bittersweet (use your favorite brand, chips or bars are fine, just make sure you don't use the entire 12 ounces if you're using bags!)
Sweetened condensed milk - 14oz can (whatever brand your store carries)
Vanilla extract - 1 Tablespoon (Don't use imitation, use the real stuff from a good brand.)

Directions
Use a double boiler or a metal or glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water.



Add chocolate to top bowl, stir until melted.



Add condensed milk, stir until combined. Don't worry.. the texture of the mixture gets really weird.



Add vanilla extract, stir until mixed. The texture should get smoother.


Remove from heat, refrigerate for 2 hours.


Truffle Finishing Ingredients
Delicious chocolate - Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, &/or Dark Chocolate
Sea salt - if you don't have sea salt you can use a coarse salt like kosher salt
Powdered sugar or cocoa powder - to dust or roll the truffles in
Coconut, chopped nuts, chocolate shavings, etc. - whatever you desire to top your truffles with or roll your truffles in.

You can finish your truffles however you like. I followed the recipe and used milk chocolate and sea salt for the first few and then switched the color scheme around and used white chocolate with dark chocolate shavings.

Directions
Start by creating small balls out of the slightly firm truffle mixture. Don't make the balls too large or they will be way too sweet and noone will want to finish it!


Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Then cover each ball with chocolate. You can drop the balls, turn them around and fish them out... but I found it was easier to use a large serving fork - put a spoonful of melted chocolate on the fork, then the ball, then spoon more chocolate over the top. I use a toothpick to help get the excess chocolate off the fork. {When you melt the chocolate, heat and stir and heat and stir until all the chunks of chocolate are just barely no longer lumpy. Otherwise your chocolate will be too hot and will just melt right off the truffle!}


The fork is also useful for easy transport onto wax paper or a cooling rack. I used a toothpick to slide it off the fork. Then I used a grater to flake tiny shavings of dark chocolate onto the top of the truffle while the chocolate was still wet.


Make sure to the let chocolate dry. White chocolate dries ridiculously fast at room temperature. Milk and dark chocolate on the other hand take forever. You can speed up the process by putting them in the fridge.


And voila! Decadent Chocolate Truffles! ;D


Enjoy!
Let me know if you try making them and how they turn out. ;]