Dark Chocolate Ganache Truffles Recipe

Within my down time, I have had some fun experimenting with some recipes. Tonight we have a Cookie Exchange in our neighborhood and although it is cookies that are exchanged... I have yet to make a cookie. Last year I made these Oreo Mint Truffle Cake Pops and the year before it was my Peppermint Cookie Crunch Bark. I guess I am just a rebel like that. This year I decided to create this recipe for Chocolate Truffles by Food Networks Ina Garten. Although that was the plan... I ended up changing things up a bit and adding my own twist.

Dark Chocolate (Chili) Ganache Truffles

yields about 4 dozen

Let me start off by prefacing this recipe as the combination of a few different obsessions that I have found myself guilty of.

1. I love chocolate. Period.
2. I watched Chocolat once about 10 years ago and became OBSESSED with the idea of chili chocolate... So much that when I was pregnant with our second son I craved it and unfortunately it was not popular then and I couldn't find it anywhere (this was in my pre-make-it-myself days).
3. Ganache. I finally learned what this creamy goodness was called a few years ago (after eating a box of truffles one Christmas with my Mother in Law, pretty sure I ate more than her, lol). 

So with these few details swirling in my head it was just a matter of time that they all surfaced at once in the form of a new obsession... to create a truffle that was sweet with a mild spicy kick.

Ingredients

• Lindt Chili Bar (3.5 oz package) *Optional flavor, if chili is not your thing, sub in one of the other chocolate flavors mentioned, or any other that fancies you)
• Lindt 90% Cocoa Bar (3.5 oz package)
• Lindt Sweet Dark Bar (3.5 oz package) 
• One bag (10 oz.) Semi-Sweet Dark Chocolate Chips
• 16oz. Heavy Whipping Cream (the little guy carton)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 cup Confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Instructions

Chop Chocolate bars and Chocolate chips so that it can easily melt. I recommend using a food processor if possible, if not pieces like the size shown below are easy to cut with a knife. Place all chocolate in a heat proof bowl.

Heat the cream in saucepan just until it boils. Turn off the heat and allow the cream to sit for 20 seconds. Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with chocolate. With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. Mix in vanilla. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.

This is where I had a little trouble, and well I think it had something to do with the fact that I was creating a double batch of the original recipe, so I gauged my wait time until my ganache had settled up a bit. By this I mean that it had been allowed to solidify a bit and become maliable with your hands to shape. I recommend starting by allowing your chocolate to sit at room temperature until you can scoop your ganache and not have the remaining ganache fall within where you scooped (so it is just a little solid). Take a regular table spoon and scoop out enough ganache to form your truffle, about enough to make a truffle about the size of a grape. Place spoon fulls on to a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Allow to harden in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

From here take the 1/2 cup of cocoa and powdered sugar and mix thoroughly together in a bowl. Take each spoon full of ganache and place it in the powdered mixture one at a time, first coating them pressing ganache into a circle. Once formed, coat again with powdered mixture. Place on a new piece of parchment paper on your cookie sheet. Once all truffles are rolled. Place your treats into your refrigerator and allow them to harden. I recommend allowing the truffles to set overnight or at least until they are firm. The original recipe states to serve at room temperature, but I would serve them fresh out of the refrigerator. I kind of like them a little more firm.


I hope that this recipe finds you well and hungry... Let me know if you try it out, it is messy, tempting and addictive... but a worth while recipe to spend some time and have fun with. I am using this as my gift giving recipe for the year. I think that these will bring a lot of smiles this Christmas :) If you have ANY questions... feel free to email me and I would be happy to help :)

Thanks for stopping by,

~Liz Hicks ♥