Our Favorite Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate truffle recipes can run the gamut between the high test ones that call for expertly tempered chocolate and using little molds, to the "fake" ones that call for cheap coconut oil coatings instead of real chocolate. I was intimidated when I read complex steps and exact temperatures for tempering chocolate, so I'd put truffles on my don't even try list. Then I learned that I have two neighbors that make chocolate truffles every year- one neighbor buys 60 lbs of chocolate in the fall and then proceeds to make 6-8 flavors of truffles over the next couple of months for Christmas, making 1332 truffles this last year (which she uses for gifts and for numerous holiday parties at her house). A second neighbor and her sister make seven flavors of truffles (mint, Kahlua, Bailey's, chocolate, caramel, maple, and raspberry) every holiday season as gifts. I asked to join them and pitch in, as well as observe the truffle magic. They had already mixed up and chilled the centers in advance, and we proceeded with the dipping of hundreds of truffles using Peters coating.

This experience demystified truffles a bit for me, but I wanted to find a recipe that met certain criteria:

• My husband wanted dark, real chocolate. We weren't interested in flavors- just plain good chocolate, including for the exterior (not a coating-type product)
• No tempering of the chocolate required
• No new equipment needed

I found this recipe for Robert Linxe's chocolate truffles from the Smitten Kitchen that fit the bill.

Note: To modify the recipe linked and below for 1 c of heaving whipping cream rather than 2/3 c:

1 c cream

16 oz chocolate, divided (12 oz for the truffles, 4 ozs for the coating)

While you can use different chocolate, my husband prefers DARK chocolate (plus it's lower in sugar), so I used 72% dark Belgian chocolate from Trader Joe's. This yields a very dark truffle, so it's not for everyone- the recipe calls for chocolate that is 56% cacao, which would be more universally appealing. While you can spend a lot of money on very high-quality chocolate (and someday we may) this is good enough for our tastes and doesn't break the bank.

I followed the recipe and boiled my heavy cream three times, then added 8 oz of chopped chocolate.

While the filling was cooling, I melted the chocolate needed for coating the truffles (3 oz of the same chocolate) for just a bit in the microwave (until it was softened but not completely melted since I didn't want to scorch it) then put it in an old yogurt maker I have that finished melting it at a gentle warm temperature. By the time the filling was solid enough to roll into balls, the coating chocolate was ready to go. I like the method in this recipe of putting a bit of melted chocolate in your palm to coat each truffle- this seems easier than dipping with a loop, and it takes less coating chocolate to get the job done. I preferred not to coat the truffles with cocoa powder as called for in the recipe.

The end result: truffles for Valentine's Day! My husband loves these, and they're a fairly easy special treat.