Valentines Day is by far one of the best days of the year for chocolate lovers. Heart shaped red boxes filled with the wonderful little treats are practically everywhere! As a little girl, Valentines Day was a favorite. Every year my Papa would give each of us kids a mini box of chocolates and my Mom would get a big box. To this day, if I'm in town, my father will still get me a box of chocolates, and to this day I still adore it! This year though, I decided to try my hand at making a few chocolates of my own...
... I used the simplest recipe I could find, and being me, I added to it (because lets face, one flavor just isn't enough).
This biggest challenge to this whole making your own truffles thing is the waiting part. The ganache needs a few hours to set up, then there's the forming part, then more chilling, followed by dipping in a chocolate coating, and yet even more chilling/waiting (I suppose the down time could be used to make valentines?).
What I loved most about this activity was how much easier it was to do than I thought it would be. Another thing is the accessibility. The ingredients can be found at any grocery strore, and the flavor options are endless. Even better? Anyone can do this (really, anyone), which means the whole family can hang out and get covered in chocolate together!
Recipe and Notes:
I used this recipe, adapted from Bon Apetite. What I did differently was to divide the ganache into three bowls after mixing. That way I could create different flavored truffles.
Flavors:
- Almond Cherry: 1 cap full Almond Extract, dried tart cherries (placed on top of truffle after chocolate coating).
- Coconut: 1 cap full natural coconut flavor, finely grated and chopped unsweetened coconut for rolling in after the chocolate coating.
- Cocoa Vanilla: 1 cap full of vanilla extract, unsweetened cocoa powder for rolling.
From our family to yours, Happy Valentines Day!
~ Jordan
*Last time in Recipes: For a Winter Weekend
