The last dessert I chose for my Tower of Treats were truffles. Who doesn’t like truffles? The day before the auction I made the truffles and the caramels. I figured that trying to make everything in one day would be a little crazy. So the night that I made the truffles and caramels, I was exhausted…if that was all I had to do during that day, it would have been easy – but with two kids, it is never like that. Nevertheless, I had to rally, we had a pre-adoption party to go to.

I didn’t know a lot of people at the party besides the host and hostess – although my husband knew quite a few. At one point he was talking to a guy he hadn’t seen in a while – and I walked up to them to ask Rich how late he wanted to stay, when the guy gave me a hard time about leaving so early. I told him that I was exhausted – I had made truffles and caramels and the next day I had brownies and peanut butter cupcakes to create (ok, yes, I sounded like a whiner at this point…). He mentioned that he made a huge batch of truffles for the holidays for all his family – and yes, it was not easy. The egg whites make the
chocolate really lumpy, and he felt like he wasted hundreds of dollars’ worth of good chocolate. Egg whites? Those were nowhere near my truffles – and I laughed at him, and told him that truffles don’t have egg whites – just cream and chocolate. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “You obviously have no idea what you are talking about.” Wow. Ok – I didn’t go to culinary school, and definitely have a lot to learn when it comes to cooking and baking – but come on. That was quite a statement. It was a good thing I was so tired – otherwise I would have ripped this guy a new one. But, I just turned around a got a drink – and relished in the fact that I had made some damn good truffles that day – and his were a bomb.

These truffles were like the ones I spend tons of money on at Fran’s Chocolates – I swear. Ok, maybe I am going a little overboard, but these were a chocolate lover’s dream. So rich, creamy and decadent – and yes, I’m sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I used high quality chocolate. They were also particularly easy as far as truffles go – my daughter helped me roll them. Most people liked the ones rolled in cocoa the most – because of the texture – but I preferred the coconut – I just love that coconut flavor. Go ahead – try them out – but leave out the egg whites – they ruin the consistency, I am pretty sure of that.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 (12-ounce) package (about 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• 1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) finely chopped unsalted almonds

Preparation

Bring cream to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Pour into medium bowl. Cover; chill until firm, about 3 hours.

Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Drop mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 45 minutes.

Place cocoa, coconut and nuts in separate bowls. Roll truffles between hands into rounds. Roll 1/3 of truffles in cocoa, 1/3 in coconut and 1/3 in nuts. Cover with plastic; chill until ready to serve. (Can be
made 2 weeks ahead. Keep chilled.)

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Trio of Chocolate Truffles