Valentine's Day - Truffles

My husband is a choc-a-holic and his birthday falls the day after Valentine's day, so even though he's not supposed to eat sweets, once a year I make him truffles. They are ridiculously easy to make and if you're scratching your head, wondering what the heck you can do for your significant other, it's a great last minute idea.

Here's the basic recipe...

Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients
1 & 2/3 c. heavy cream
7 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb of semi-sweet chocolate
2-3 Tbsp Bourbon (Amaretto or Grand Marnier are also good), optional
Cocoa powder

Directions

1. Chop up the chocolate roughly
2. Pour the cream into a saucepan and add the butter in chunks.
3. Heat the cream and butter over medium heat until the butter melts, stirring constantly.
4. Turn up the heat and keep stirring until it's just starting to boil. Remove from the heat.
5. Add the chocolate and stir it in until it melts and starts to thicken & cool.
6. Add the liquer (if you wish--this is entirely optional).
7. Cover and cool for 2-3 hours (or longer). While it is cooling, stir it about every 45 minutes or so.
8. Sprinkle some cocoa on a plate and coat your palms. Form the truffles by scooping out 1 tsp (you don't have to be exact--this is just a rough size and you can make them larger or smaller at your discretion). Roll them briefly to make balls (don't hold them too long or they will melt) and then roll them on the plate to give them a nice coat of cocoa.

Keep them refrigerated.

Note: I like to wash out and save the glass instant coffee or mason jars to use as truffle jars. They make really cute gifts when you tie a red ribbon around them. 

So there you are--easy, right? These truffles have a deep, rich flavor and you can have fun adding different liquers if you wish. Orange-flavored liquer is excellent, although my husband is a big fan of bourbon-flavored truffles.

I've got my mixture sitting in the refridgerator right now and I'm planning to surprise my husband with a jar of his favorite bourbon truffles this evening, right after a scrumptious dinner of venison bourguignon, pasta, and a huge salad.

Happy Valentine's day (a little early, but...)