Chocolate Truffles

Chop both the Lindt and Ghiradelli chocolates finely with a sharp knife.  Place them in a heatproof mixing bowl (glass will work perfectly!).

Heat cream in a small saucepan until it just 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 the chocolate.  With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted.  Whisk in the Grand Marnier, if using, coffee and vanilla.  Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.  This will give the chocolate mixture a chance to harden up a bit, which will make scooping much easier.  You can also place in the refrigerator, but you will need the mixture to reach room temperature before continuing to the next step.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon pad.  Using a small ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons, spoon round balls of the chocolate mixture onto the baking sheet. Don’t worry if they aren’t perfectly round.  We’ll fix that later!

Refrigerate for 30 minutes, until firm.  Roll each dollop of chocolate in your hands to roughly make a round ball.  Place one ball on your left palm, set your right palm lightly on top and rotate either clockwise or counter-clockwise until you have a perfectly round ball. 

Put the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder in 2 separate small bowls.  Roll each truffle in confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, or both.

Line a container with parchment paper and layer the truffles on the parchment paper.  I usually make 2 levels of truffles per container.

These will keep refrigerated for weeks making them the perfect hostess gift, holiday party gift or dessert for your holiday party.  If serving them at a party, take them out out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours beforehand, to give them a chance to get to room temperature. 

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten