Chocolate Truffles For Your Vegan Valentine

Looking for something deliciously decadent to give your Valentine this year? Well, a good place to start is with these rich homemade chocolate truffles! They're a very basic recipe, and are super-simple to make, but they sure don't skimp on taste. I made them for the folks here at work and was quite pleased with my results. I veganized this recipe from the Martha Stewart Living February 2010 issue.


So, without further chatter, I give you:

Valentine Chocolate Truffles

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. bittersweet vegan chocolate, in morsels or chopped
1/2 cup Silk Vanilla Coffee Creamer
1 tbsp. Grand Marnier or other liqueur
1/4 tsp. salt
unsweetened cocoa powder, for rolling the truffles


DIRECTIONS:

Place the chocolate bits in a bowl. Bring cream, Grand Marnier, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour the mixture over the chocolate, and let it stand for about two minutes. Then, whisk it until smooth and velvety.

Next, pour the chocolate into a small-ish baking dish (I used an 8-inch cake pan) and refrigerate until it's chilly. I'd recommend about an hour or so.

Finally, scoop balls of the chocolate mixture using a tablespoon and roll them in the cocoa powder, tossing until fully coated. My mixture was a little warmer than I'd like (I only chilled the mix for 30 minutes), so my hands wound up covered in chocolate when I tried to make these into perfect little balls. But, do what you need to do to get the job done. You may wind up with chocolate covered hands, but really, that's not so bad.

They're best when they're a little bit chilly, so keep them in the fridge until you're ready to serve or gift them.


A note about the chocolate choice: I used Ghirardelli chips that were 70% cacao. The chips were really rich tasting, so my truffles turned out really, really rich tasting. Think of it as making an even more concentrated flavor than what you started with. So, if you choose something lighter, you'll wind up with a more delicate flavor, if you choose something darker, you'll wind up with a more robust flavor. Just to keep in mind!

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!