And. . . we’re off! On the Mel and Laura’s Several Fabulous Things You Can Make for V-Day Project, that is.
First up: Truffles. And not just any truffles. These are dairy-free and nut-free, sure, but they don’t taste like they’re lacking a thing. Heavenly stuff. We made them recently for our March-April Peggy’s Kitchen article (which features special treats for kids with food sensitivities) and we could not believe how good these were.
Don’t be daunted by the photo. We’re here to tell you these are not hard to make. And once you’ve mixed up the ingredients and let them chill, rolling the dough into little balls is just the kind of thing a child can help with.
This recipe was created by Mothering contributor Ginger Park, whose son, Justin, has dairy and nut allergies. (To download a printable PDF of the recipe, click here.)
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Justin’s Five-Star Truffles, recipe by Ginger Park
I wanted to create a chocolate truffle as velvety as the real thing so that I could watch my child do what our customers do: close his eyes and go “Mmmm . . .”
16 ounces dairy-free semisweet chocolate or chips
2/3 cup Silk Creamer (soy)
6 tablespoons soy butter (butter substitute), room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Optional Chocolate Shell
16 ounces dairy-free semisweet chocolate or chips
In large glass microwavable bowl, combine chocolate and Silk Creamer. Microwave 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Add soy butter and vanilla, and continue to whisk until velvety. Pour mixture into 13-by-9-by 2-inch glass baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least four hours.
In small bowl, combine cocoa powder and cinnamon. With either a 1-inch cookie drop and mini ice cream scoop or a 1-inch melon baller greased with soy butter, form 1-inch balls. (After you scoop up the mixture, roll it into a ball in your palm.) Roll each ball in cocoa-cinnamon mixture (omit this step if adding chocolate shell). They’re ready to eat—or store in airtight container in freezer or refrigerator.
Chocolate Shell: Melt chocolate chips in double boiler, stirring occasionally, until velvety smooth. Remove top pot of warmed chocolate. One at a time, using fork or fingers, dip chilled truffle balls into chocolate, shake off excess, then set on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Chill in refrigerator 15 minutes.
(For an extra-fancy look, after dipping the balls into the melted chocolate, we sprinkled some truffles with nonpareils and drizzled others with melted, dairy-free white chocolate. For a professional-looking white chocolate drizzle, Mel couldn’t find her pastry bag, so she filled a plastic sandwich bag with the melted white chocolate, then poked a tiny hole in the bag and carefully squeezed out a thin stream in a decorative pattern across the truffle.)
Dusted Cocoa Topping: Put 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon cinnamon into large ziplock bag. Place truffles in bag, then gently shake until covered with cocoa powder. Ready to eat, or store as directed above.
Makes 45 truffles.
Photo and truffle styling by Melyssa Holik
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© 2009 Mothering Magazine