Chocolate Truffles & Other Chocolate-Dipped Treats

Chocolate Truffles
Makes about 24 truffles

Ingredients:
6 ounces (1 cup) dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced and softened at room temperature
1 cup toasted and finely chopped nuts, cocoa powder, sprinkles, toasted coconut flakes and/or minced cacao nibs (optional)
Few pinches of flaky sea salt, such a Maldon or Fleur de Sel
Tempered chocolate (recipe below, optional)

Steps:
1. Line two baking sheets with wax or parchment paper; set aside.

2. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour it over the chocolate. Let the chocolate melt for 1 minute, then stir with a spatula in tight circles from the center outward until combined. (This mixture is called a ganache in French.) Stir in the room temperature butter until melted and the ganache is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Note: to speed up the chilling, transfer the ganache to a small baking sheet or baking pan and cool in the refrigerator or freezer.)

3. Portion the chocolate into large grape-size (1-inch) spheres by scooping the hardened chocolate with a melon baller, mini pastry scoop or a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon; place on the baking sheet. Roll each portion by hand (rubber gloves or paper towels are useful to keep the mess under control.) Chill the truffles again in the refrigerator. 

4. Roll the chilled truffles in the tempered chocolate, or roll directly into the finely chopped nuts, coconut, cocoa powder, you name it. Or top the chocolate-covered truffles with sprinkles, nonpareils, and/or sea salt. Place the truffles back on the baking sheet and refrigerate to set. Serve at room temperature. Truffles will keep for up to 2 weeks stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Recipe by Jill Santopietro.

NOTE: If for some reason the ganache breaks (meaning it turns into a solid, lumpy mass,) rewarm it in a microwave or over a double boiler (a bowl set over a pot with 1 inch of simmering water) and blend it together using a blender or food processor.

Melted Chocolate
Makes about 1 1/2 cups melted chocolate.

This recipe explains how to temper chocolate — a process that gives it a shiny, hard finish and requires an instant read or candy thermometer. We will go over tempering briefly, but don’t worry if you don’t have a thermometer. You can skip the tempering and simply melt the chocolate to make your dipped chocolate treats.

12 ounces (2 cups) dark chocolate, finely chopped, divided
Flaky sea salt, sprinkles, or colored nonpareils (optional, but nice!)
2 to 3 cups of mixed treats to dip in chocolate, such as truffles, potato chips, graham crackers, pretzels rods or rounds, marshmallows, strawberries, and/or dried fruits (optional)

1. Line two baking sheets with wax or parchment paper; set aside.

2. To temper chocolate, bring a medium saucepan filled with 1 to 2 inches of water to a simmer over high heat; once simmering, turn off the heat. 

3. Place 8 ounces (1 1/3 cups) of the finely chopped chocolate in a dry, heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over the saucepan and stir constantly until the chocolate is completely melted and has reached 115°F. (Make sure the chocolate does not come in contact with the water or exceed 120°F or you can burn the chocolate.).

4. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and bring your saucepan to a slow simmer again. 

5. Gradually add half of the remaining 4 ounces (2/3 cup) of finely chopped chocolate, and stir until all the chocolate has melted and the temperature has cooled to 81°F. Add more of the remaining chocolate as necessary, to bring the temperature down (you will probably not need to add all the chocolate.)

6. Once cooled, return the bowl of chocolate to the saucepan of slowly simmering water, and stir constantly until the chocolate reaches between 88 and 90°F; immediately remove from heat. Do not remove the thermometer from the bowl; check the temperature periodically to make sure it stays between 88°F and 90°F. (The chocolate must remain in this temperature range while dipping food into or it will not set properly.) Keep the saucepan of water over low heat and, when needed, set the bowl of chocolate over it to reheat.

7. To test if the chocolate is properly tempered, dip a butter knife into the chocolate, and set in the fridge for 3 minutes. If it has a smooth, hard surface and good snap, you’ve tempered it correctly. If it is not properly tempered, let the melted chocolate harden and start the tempering process over again: Bring the chocolate up to 115°F, then down to 81°F, then up again to between 88°-90°F.

8. When you’ve reach that perfect temperature, start dipping! Using a dinner fork, dip the truffles one at a time into the chocolate until covered. Lift each truffle out of the chocolate and tap the fork several times on the edge of the bowl. Scrape the bottom of the fork against the edge of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. To dip other items, hold the item from one end, and dip it halfway or mostly into the chocolate. Tap excess chocolate back into the bowl. Transfer the item to a baking sheet. Let sit at room temperature until completely set, about 20 minutes. Store dried foods (like marshmallows, potato chips or graham crackers, in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month.) Chocolate dipped truffles and strawberries should be refrigerated if not eating that day. Recipe by Jill Santopietro. 

A Few NOTES:
Semi or bitter-sweet (60%-70% cacao) chocolate: With semi-or-bitter-sweet chocolates, they can range from 44% cacao to 77% cacao and the amount of sugar can vary quite a bit. 44% cacao has a lot more sugar than 77% cacao. Check the labels, as you want to avoid super- sweet chocolate here. Try to stick to chocolate in the 60-70% cacao range. (See example, at right.)

Small Boxes or Cellophane Bags: Together we’ll decorate our boxes and bags. A small jewelry-like box is great for truffles. You can line the box with wax paper, or purchase some mini muffin liners. If you have time before class (or after), try making these handmade origami boxes. They are adorable and made from regular construction paper (or use a thick wrapping paper) - affordable and cute!

Here is an online tutorial for the boxes that we used to make ours: https://www.gatheringbeauty.com/blog//2014/09/diy-origami-gift-boxes.html
Cellophane bags can be found at Target, Michaels or online, but regular Ziplocs are great, too. You can cut the seal-tops off, tie them with ribbon and decorate them.