Cooking Baking Eating

I have a new thing I want to start making. Finger food. I love the idea of being able to eat with your hands. Simple one bite packages that deliver taste and you don’t have to use a fork.

For my first foray into the little bites section of my cooking experience, I give dessert: Dark Chocolate Truffles.

I love making these and part of me is posting these not only for the fact that I’m loving the idea of finger foods, but also because I had a coworker who would always ask me when I would next be making them. I saw him again this week, unfortunately he didn’t see me. He isn’t a coworker any longer since he suddenly lost his sight last year. He’s a cool guy and I’ve been wanting to post these while they were on the brain.

Truffles bare the same name as the funky looking mushroom that we consider a delicacy and spend LOTS of money on. I really don’t think I’ve ever eaten a real truffle, but I am quite content with the dessert look-a-like version.

My version pictured doesn’t actually look like a truffle, they are usually round or misshapen to resemble their namesakes. I just thought it was going to be easier to just cut them in squares instead of shaping them. Really its just because I’m lazy.

You can coat them in anything that you want. I think my favorite is just cocoa powder or powdered sugar. But they can be covered in sprinkles, toasted nuts or shredded coconut. In the recipe I mix milk chocolate and semi-sweet, I think it makes a great combo since just semi-sweet can be quite powerful along with dusting them in cocoa powder.

Ingredients:
Makes 60+ pieces, depending on size.

• 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup whipping cream
• Small pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• Cocoa powder for dusting

1. Line an 9×13 inch baking pan with plastic wrap; set aside.
2. Place chocolate in a double boiler and begin melting.
3. In a small sauce pan, warm the cream and remove from heat before boiling. Let stand for 5 minutes then add vanilla and salt. Add cream to the melting chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted and the cream incorporated.
4. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate 6 hours or until firm. Invert the pan on a cutting board, the truffles should come out easily. Remove plastic wrap and cut into 1 inch squares. Coat with cocoa powder and store in refrigerator.