Truffles Three Way

I first made truffle 8 Christmases ago. It was really my first experience making Christmas treats. I remember using a large amount of butter in the chocolate and on my hands to roll the truffles. It was a messy endeavour. It's still a messy endeavour but I think I have found a recipe I really like that does not involve butter!



Truffles Three Way
From use real butter's mocha truffles.
I followed the mocha truffle recipe and made two other versions. I halved the recipe so I could have less quantity and more variety. I ended up with 60 truffles instead of 120! The truffles were easy to make and could be varied to suit any flavour one prefers.

For the truffles
* ⅓ cup heavy cream (35% fat)
* 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Heat up the cream in a small pot.
Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot cream until melted. (If the chocolate does not melt completely, heat it over a pot of simmering water.)
Add flavouring as you like.
For the mocha truffles: add ½ tbsp instant espresso powder into the cream before pouring onto the chocolate and ½ tbsp coffee liqueur (I had Bailey's on hand).
For the orange truffles: add ½ tbsp of orange liqueur (I used Cointreau) and some orange zest.
For the ice wine truffles: add ½ tbsp of ice wine (I used an ice wine and brandy bottle).
Cool the chocolate mixture until you can work it with your hands (I refrigerated it overnight and let it warm up a bit at room temperature).
Spoon or scoop out the chocolate (I found a mini-scooper helped keep the truffles relatively the same size).
Shape the truffles into rounder shapes by rolling them between your hands (I considered using gloves but was worried it would leave a rubbery taste - maybe medical gloves are not a good idea...).


Melting the chocolate and scooping out the chocolate mixture.

Coating the truffles
I liked coating the differently flavoured truffles in different coatings so they could be easily identified. You can pick which coating you prefer, or come up with new ones, like using chopped nuts or coconuts, or drizzling some white chocolate!

For the mocha truffles: I followed use real butter's original recipe by first dipping the truffles in melted chocolate (again with a bit of cream to get the right consistency) and then rolling them in cocoa.
For the orange truffles: I just dipped them in chocolate, by using two forks, and placed them on a parchment lined sheet so the chocolate solidified.
For the ice wine truffles: By the final batch, I was tired of dipping truffles into additional melted chocolate and just rolled them in powdered sugar. That was sufficient, except the truffles were smaller without the extra layer of melted chocolate.
Tada!


Rolling the chocolate into spheres and rolling them into cocoa powder.


Truffles take a bit of effort but taste great and are oh so pretty!

For more ideas for Christmas baked goods:
* Last year's included chocolate hazelnut biscotti, French chocolate bark & cranberry pecan bars
* Chocolate Crinkles
* Date Squares
* Orange-Almond Buttons
* Mocha Toffee Bars