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!)

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.

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies

So my obsession with the holidays has me thinking of more and more ways to celebrate and put my own spin on the traditions we all know and love. I’m also in the midst of trying to plan for my holiday party this week, and I love to give my guests a little of the familiar and a little of the unexpected. That (and a deep craving for mint and chocolate!) was the inspiration for this recipe.

To be completely truthful, this recipe, like others I’m doing for this party, is a sneaky way to save time and be efficient. I can make this dough at the beginning of the week, freeze it in long skinny cylinders, and then cut them into little rounds. During the party, I can throw them into the oven towards the end of the night for 5 to 10 minutes, and voila! Everyone gets fresh-baked, mini cookies, and my apartment smells like heaven…

I wanted to create pillowy, moist, brownie-rich, chocolate chip cookies scented with peppermint. Who doesn’t love that? The ingredient that adds a bit of the unfamiliar is ground cardamom; the spice has a menthol-like quality that works beautifully with the mint. I’m a dark chocolate girl myself, but I threw in some white chocolate chips for the creaminess – it helps offset the bitterness of the dark chocolate and blends seamlessly with the mint. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 2 dozen cookies (size-dependent)

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup white sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp peppermint extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

½ cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together butter and both sugars. Add the egg and peppermint and vanilla extracts. Add flour mixture and mix until almost completely incorporated. It should mostly be sticking to the paddle at this point. Scrape down, add in chips and mix for another 15 to 20 seconds until uniform.

At this point, I like to turn the cookie dough out onto plastic wrap, form into a cylinder, and freeze for about 10 minutes. This makes it easier to cut into even sized, round cookies. Also, at this point, you can freeze the dough for later use – overnight or longer. Conversely, you can just drop rounded spoonfuls a few inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes depending on how chewy or crunchy or what size you made the cookies. Remember to add a few more minutes if you froze the cookies ahead of time and are putting them straight in. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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3-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Espresso-Chocolate Brigadeiros

Double Chocolate Mint Cookies