These Easy Chocolate Truffles are Guaranteed Love at First *Bite*

Valentine’s Day is the ultimate chocolate holiday and I love every type of chocolate (white, dark, milk, semi-sweet)! You know what else I love? Chocolate truffles. You know–the fancy kind that you buy from a candy counter. They’re rich, silky, and usually dipped in one kind of chocolate and drizzled with another. It’s a splurge-worthy kind of treat, but here’s a secret: You can make candy-counter level chocolate truffles at home–and it’s easier than you think. Just give this recipe a try!

These sweet treats are rich, decadent, creamy, silky, luscious, and pretty much every other adjective you can think of when it comes to describing the perfect chocolate truffle. I can’t emphasize enough how incredible the texture of these is! One of the best parts about this recipe is that it’s completely customizable to your taste. Use dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate! Dip them in sprinkles! Roll them in cocoa powder! Hate nuts? Skip them! Dunk them in even more chocolate and drizzle a different type of chocolate on top!

It’s a choose-your-own-chocolate-adventure situation that everyone will love. Make these for date night, as a fun family project, or to give away to friends/teachers/neighbors/co-workers. It will be love at first bite. Prepare to be asked, “What French chocolate shop did you buy these from?”

Easy Chocolate Truffles

Prep time: 30 minutes

Yields: 18 servings

Ingredients

For truffles:

• 8 oz chocolate, very finely chopped
• Note: You can use dark, semi-sweet, or milk depending on preference. Note that even semi-sweet yields a truffle that could be considered to be dark chocolate, so if you really like sweet chocolate, I’d lean towards milk. I personally think semi-sweet is the right middle ground but I also do like dark chocolate. Be sure to use a high-quality chocolate baking bar like Ghirardelli or Baker’s.
• Note: If you haven’t worked much with chocolate before, know that it’s SUPER important not to get any water in it or it will ruin the chocolate. Make sure your bowl, knife, cutting board, etc. are all clean and dry before beginning.
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For toppings:

• Cocoa powder
• Melted chocolate
• Sprinkles
• Chopped nuts

Instructions:

1. Chop the chocolate very finely (see photo) and place it into a heat-safe bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a small pot over medium heat until simmering (not boiling!). Pour over the chocolate and let sit 5 minutes.

2. Stir until it’s completely mixed and smooth, like a ganache. If you still have some lumps left from any pieces of chocolate that weren’t chopped small enough, heat an inch of water in a pot that the bowl can sit on top of without touching the water. Heat the water over low heat so it’s just steaming, place the bowl on top of the pot (like a DIY double boiler) and stir until the last bits are melted.

3. Pour mixture into a shallow dish (like a glass pie plate) so it cools faster. Cover with plastic wrap (make sure it’s laying across the surface of the chocolate to prevent any drying out) and chill in the fridge for 1 and ½ to 2 hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Scoop the cooled and set chocolate out of the dish using a tablespoon–we want each truffle about a scant tablespoon in size. They’ll be super moist and a bit hard to roll here so you can chill the pan (covered with a kitchen towel) in the fridge for 15-25 minutes to help “harden” the chocolate back up.

5. Roll the scooped chocolate mounds into balls and roll into desired toppings! Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Did you try this easy truffle recipe? Show us your chocolate treats on Instagram @Lulus using #lovelulus–and shop sweet Valentine’s Day looks here!