Chocolate truffles

 Next time I will shake them a bit better to remove excess coating, but these are the best I've ever made!

I've tried quite a few "fool proof" truffle recipes, and I guess I'm a bigger fool than I originally thought.  Am I the only one who ends up with more truffle mix on my warm hands than in the round balls?  And as far as scooping out a perfect ball with a melon baller...well, let's just not go there.

So I was so relieved when I came across a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that promised me I'd be able to cool their mixture to the perfect temperature and roll perfect truffles.  Ok, not so much, but I certainly did love the smooth creamy consistency of the ganache mixture, so I experimented to find a way that would actually work for me.  And I think I've found it.  In fact, it might very well work with all the different recipes that I've tried in the past, but for now I'm sticking with this one, because I love love love the taste and the texture.  The long slow cool-down keeps grainy crystals from forming.


Chocolate Truffles

Follow the recipe found at Cook's Illustrated, chilling the ganache for 2 hours

Make the coating found at the same recipe, from cocoa and confectioners' sugar.  Place in a cake pan.  Let the ganache sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes and then cut it into squares.  Place 6 to 8 squares at a time into the powdered coating and shake the pan to cover.  Then shape them into balls with your hands.  Return to the pan and recoat with the powder.  Store in the refrigerator.