blissful eats with tina jeffers: chocolate truffles

Christmas is right around the corner but there is still time for some sweet treats! Baking is such a wonderful tradition to share with family, I have fond memories of the cookie tray on Christmas eve full of all my favorite sugary sweets. I still have lots of shopping to do, and I haven’t even started the wrapping but I have managed to sneak into the kitchen and bake up some gifts to share. I love to gift homemade treats, it’s so much more personal than a gift certificate and really says that you cared to take the time to make something.

Truffles make the perfect addition to a holiday table. Rich, decadent and a little bit naughty, they are easy to flavor to your taste and preference. Add a little liquor, a pinch of spice, swap out the hazelnuts with pistachios or almonds and you can have a box of chocolates that will satisfy every taste. I did find all the scooping and rolling a little bit messy, next time I think I might try to pipe the truffles with a pastry tip after the mixture has chilled for an hour.

Chocolate truffles

Makes about four dozen

Ingredients:

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened

1 cup dutch processed cocoa

¼ cup confectioners sugar

1 cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts (optional)

Method:

Coat an 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment.

Microwave chocolate in medium bowl at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until mostly melted, 2 to 3 minutes and set aside. Meanwhile microwave cream in a measuring cup until warm to the touch, about 30 seconds. Stir corn syrup, vanilla, and salt into cream and pour mixture over chocolate. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, set aside for 3 minutes and then stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Stir in buter, one piece at a time, until fully incorporated.

Refrigerate mixture until firm about 2 hours. Sift cocoa and sugar through a strainer into a large bowl. Using a spoon scoop out a teaspoon of the chocolate mixture and roll into 1 inch balls. Roll the truffles in the cocoa mixture or the hazelnuts.