Truffles = Pure Bliss

I finished making the truffles and boxed them up last night. Dave is giving them to everyone at work today. I like to use the recipe from the Martha Stewart website, which is so simple and delicious. I did make a few changes though, so let's walk through it.The most important ingredient is 8 oz of very good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped. I used the Pound Plus Bittersweet Belgian chocolate bars from Trader Joes (they used to have a 10 lb bar, but they stopped carrying it).Bring 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream to a gentle boil and add to chocolate.Stir until all the chocolate is melted, then add 1 tsp of extract (I use a different flavor for each batch: almond - Dave's favorite, raspberry - my favorite, and peppermint). Let sit about 15 minutes, or until thickened.

Line an 8" dish with plastic wrap and pour in chocolate.

Wrap plastic around to cover top and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until firm.
Remove from dish by lifting up on plastic and place on counter. Use a ruler and knife or pizza cutter to cut it into 3/4" squares.

Dip in melted milk chocolate and put on foil or wax paper to set. Optional: drizzle with melted white chocolate (I use this as a way to differentiate the flavors; white for almond, then added food coloring to make pink for raspberry and green for mint)

I assembled the boxes with tissue paper and paper cups, fitting 6 truffles per box.

Then I tied them up with light green ribbon. I just love dark brown and light green together. See? Wasn't that rather easy? Once I got the right kind of dipping chocolate, it went much smoother. I used the Wilton Light Cocoa Candy Melts, which have a much higher amount of oil. It doesn't taste quite as good, but it's much easier to use and you only need a thin layer on the outside. Martha uses cocoa powder on hers instead of the melted chocolate, but I think that's too bitter. The kids LOVE them and I just might have to make another batch.