So the story behind these truffles....
I found this recipe in "The Best of Martha Stewart Living: Handmade Christmas". I was making boxes of handmade cookies for everyone as presents and decided to add these to the mix since all my friends are chocolate freaks. I had a few leftover (ok, more than a few) when I was done with making the boxes and brought them with me to my cousin's christmas dinner. One couple, friends of my cousins, spent the first half of the dinner asking me how I made everything. My reply, "I just turned to Martha...and found what I was looking for." (yes, a reference to "Martha is God"... *lol*) Anyway, the husband and wife were munching on these truffles and the husband says, "Why is it that when she," he points to me "follows Martha, she makes great stuff...and when you do," he points to his wife "it comes out tasting like paste?"
As much as I loved basking in the praise for these truffles, I thought it was best to excuse myself and mingle with the other guests. Anyway, while these guys look beautifully complicated, they're surprisingly simple. (Would you believe that I had no problem with all the "complicated" cookie recipes in that book until it was time to make sugar cookies...and then I had TWO batches of that dough fail on me? humph! *G*)
12 oz semi sweet chocolate (Ghirardelli or Lindt works best)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Armagnac (brandy, cognac, or orange liqueur may be
substituted...I prefer cognac)
1/2 cup Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa, sifted (I prefer using
Ghirardelli's semi sweet powdered cocoa)
Chop chocolate and place into a bowl. In a small heavy saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pour over chocolate and stir until smooth. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in liqueur. Place in fridge and chill at least 3 hours or overnight.
Remove solidified mixture from fridge and scoop out small portions of chocolate with a tablespoon. Roll into a ball. Continue until mixture is used up. Roll each ball in powdered cocoa until completely covered. Chill all until firm. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
There you have it. Enjoy!
As always, if you have a recipe you want to share, Email me!