3-Ingredient Chocolate Truffles

3-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

With Valentine's Day just a few days away, chocolate is on the brain. Nothing says “I love you” more than a double decker box of chocolates…but making your own chocolate truffles is way simpler than most people think (and who doesn't prefer a handmade gift?).

This is a super simple, 3-ingredient recipe to get you started to make decadent, silky, chocolate truffles. Then, if you want, you can tailor to your preferences. I'm including options for flavorings to add to the base or leave the recipe as is and just coat the truffles in a different ways (think cocoa powder, crushed pistachios, shredded coconut, etc…). Enjoy!

Yields approximately 2 dozen truffles

12 ounces dark, semisweet or milk chocolate chips, roughly chopped (1 bag)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt

Place the chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream and salt to a simmer, just enough to dissolve the salt and watch that it doesn't boil over. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for 5 minutes before stirring. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth (this is also the time to add any liquid ingredients for flavor).

Allow to cool at room temperature for an hour. Using a teaspoon or a small cookie scoop, scoop the truffles onto parchment paper. Place in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up a bit. Roll in the palm of your hands to get them perfect (but quickly or they will start to melt!). Roll them in whatever toppings you like and enjoy!

Mix-ins: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons liqueur (coffee, rum, Grand Marnier, kirsch), 1 tablespoon orange blossom water, 1 tablespoon espresso, 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract

To Coat: cocoa powder (with or without cinnamon, cardamom, etc), sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut, crushed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios), sprinkles, flake sea salt (just a pinch on top!)

My Homemade Nutella

So, admittedly, I’ve been on a bit of a healthy kick lately – toting around awful looking bottles of green juice, trying to eat more raw foods and roughage, and avoiding alcohol (gasp!). A bit of a spring cleanse, if you will. It’s been about two weeks (14 days, 11 hours and 33 minutes but who’s counting?), and I’m feeling pretty good. For some reason, over the last few days, my sweet tooth has gone a bit haywire, so I decided to make something I crave pretty often…nutella!

Now, nutella is one of those items with which I avoid eye contact in the grocery store. God forbid I bring a jar of it home, and it sits there longingly, just asking for me to take a spoon to it each time I go into the kitchen. I grew up eating it on special breakfast occasions, a lusciously chocolate-y and nutty filling for crèpes, a tradition I’ve carried on to adulthood. It’s popular for breakfast in Europe, where it’s touted as healthy! Can you actually believe it??

On closer inspection, it really isn’t that bad for you! Nuts, skim milk, a bit of cocoa powder – I thought a homemade version could only be better. I used a slightly healthier oil, hazelnut oil, in lieu of the palm oil used in the original version. I also used a local honey instead of sugar. I did add some real dark chocolate to mine, but I rationalized that 3.5 ounces spread out over a whole jar can’t be that bad for you, and isn’t dark chocolate an antioxidant anyway? This nutella is creamy, rich, and delicious and tastes just like the ingredients it’s made from (so use good ones!). Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted*

¼ cup raw almonds, toasted*

2 tbsps hazelnut oil

1-3 tbsps local honey**

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp kosher salt

½ cup skim milk

3.5 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate, chopped

Procedure

To the bowl of a food processor, add the toasted hazelnuts and almonds and process until a fine crumb. Add the oil, honey, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and salt and process until a paste.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and chocolate together until the chocolate is completely melted. Add to the food processor and process until the nutella’s texture is smooth and creamy. Cool and refrigerate. This can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week.

*I chopped up the hazelnuts here to increase their surface area, so they toast up quicker. You can easily toast the chopped hazelnuts and almonds together in a 350° F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

**The variation in the amount of honey really depends on 2 things: (1) what type of chocolate you are using and (2) your personal preference for how sweet you want this. I used a 70% dark chocolate and about 2 tablespoons, but if you are using a semisweet or even a milk chocolate, you may need less. This is something that you can add at the end to taste if you like.

Espresso-Chocolate Brigadeiros

I love when I discover a food or dish that is completely a blank slate – a truly adaptable item that you can tailor to your own taste preferences with a few key ingredients. Brigadeiros, another one of my Brazilian discoveries, are precisely that, a docinho or sweet that is enjoyed all over the country. These are effectively little balls of luscious, milk fudge that are ridiculously easy to make and that can be layered with any flavor combo you like.

Now, when I say easy, even that might be an overstatement. It can be as simple as 3 ingredients – sweetened condensed milk, unsalted butter, and whatever you are flavoring are garnishing these little guys with. I found my favorite sweet shop in Rio and kept sneaking a new flavor (or two, who are we kidding) back to my hotel room each day, but my heart really settled on chocolate, which is one of the most popular versions.

So, I will admit, I made the recipe more complicated than the original BUT only in number of ingredients. And, of course, I think using real chocolate in lieu of just cocoa (the tradition) gives it a much richer taste. It’s seldom I go all in on just chocolate in a dessert, so the espresso powder, I think, brings out what’s best about the semisweet chocolate. I would say that the addition of heavy cream, vanilla, salt and corn syrup make this somewhere between a truffle and a brigadeiro – but the result is simply heavenly: rich, thick fudgy bites with that signature mocha flavor. Next time, I plan to use Mexican chocolate, one of my favorite ingredients out there, and see what happens. Enjoy!

Ingredient

Makes approximately 2 dozen brigadeiros

3 tbsps unsalted butter

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

¼ tsp kosher salt

3 tbsps heavy cream

1 tsp light corn syrup

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ tsp instant espresso powder

1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3.5 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (approx ¾ cup)

Garnish: cocoa powder, chocolate sprinkles or vermicelli, and/or chocolate-covered espresso bean

Procedure

In a small, preferably nonstick, pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the sweetened condensed milk, salt, heavy cream, corn syrup and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. When the mixture starts to bubble, add the espresso powder, cocoa powder and chopped chocolate and whisk to melt chocolate. Cook on medium-low for 10-15 minutes whisking constantly. The mixture should just lightly bubble around the edges so reduce the heat if it’s cooking too quickly.

When it’s ready, you should see that the mixture will pull away from the sides and slide around the bottom. Transfer to a metal bowl and don’t scrape the bottom of the pot. Let cool for 30 to 45 minutes at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge.

You want to cool the mixture completely before rolling the brigadeiros. This will take likely between 3 and 4 hours. I actually took the bowl out after 2 hours and used a small, greased ice cream scoop to scoop out 24 equal mounds of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Then, I put it back into the fridge to firm up for another 20 minutes. The increased surface area makes it cool faster.

Make sure your hands are greased and roll the mixture into even-sized balls. Then, it is up to your imagination how to garnish. You can simply roll in cocoa powder or sprinkles. I garnished mine with chocolate vermicelli and a chocolate-covered espresso bean. I think the little paper baking cups make it look adorable. These are best enjoyed at room temperature.

These will keep for 2 days at room temperature if you keep them in an airtight container. In the fridge, they’ll keep for closer to a month. If refrigerating, bring to room temperature before serving.

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3-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

My Homemade Nutella

Espresso-Chocolate Brigadeiros