These peppermint chocolate truffles are so easy, and melt in your mouth delicious! And they're perfect for gift giving too. This step by step guide will give you all the options to make these decadent treats. EASY - Very easy recipe. Great to do with kids as well. Coat these with cocoa powder for the simplest version.INTERMEDIATE - If you choose to coat these truffles with chocolate, that would involve tempering chocolate. This is a more advance technique for beginners, but still do-able. See recipe notes on how to make this process easier.US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate and consistent results.There is a chill time in the recipe that can be as little as 4 hours or as long as 24 hours.
360gcouverture chocolate12.7 oz (55 - 70% cocoa content)
210gheavy cream¾ cup + 2 tbsp
¼tspsea salt
10mLpeppermint extract2 tsp
57gunsalted butter4 tbsp, softened
To temper - INTERMEDIATE OPTION
300gsemisweet couverture chocolate10.6 oz (you can also use chocolate candy melts instead - see recipe notes)
chopped candy canes
To coat - EASIER OPTION
Cocoa powderI use extra brute Callebaut cocoa powder
Instructions
Chocolate truffle base (chocolate ganache)
Make sure the chocolate is chopped into fairly small pieces, especially if you’re using a chocolate block. Then place the chocolate in a clean dry bowl.
Heat the cream and salt together in a small saucepan, until the cream starts to simmer. Do not let it boil.
Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, and cover and let it sit for about 1 minute.
Add vanilla and use a whisk to stir the ganache mixture until emulsified (smooth).
Add the softened butter and whisk until melted through. The ganache should be shiny and smooth.
Cover the surface with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is in contact with the whole surface of the chocolate ganache. This is to prevent a skin from forming on top.
Allow the chocolate ganache to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours until set. The cooling process will be faster if you transfer the ganache into a large, flat dish.
Once the ganache is set, it’s ready to be shaped into truffles.
Shaping the truffles
Use a small cookie scoop (#60, 2 tsp volume) to portion the ganache mixture. You can also use a regular spoon or a melon baller instead.
Place each portion on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Once the ganache is portioned, roll each portion into a smooth ball between your palms. Do this quickly as the chocolate will melt in your hands. Use gloves if you prefer.
Once shaped, the truffles are ready to be coated. However, if the truffles are too soft, put them back in the fridge to let them harden just a little bit.
Coating truffles with tempered chocolate (INTERMEDIATE OPTION)
Maintain the tempered chocolate temperature while coating the truffles to prevent the chocolate from thickening too much and losing the temper.
Wearing gloves for this process will prevent this from being too messy and it’s also more sanitary. Or you can also use a clean, dry surface instead of your palms.
Take a small amount of the tempered chocolate into your palm, and then place a truffle on top. Roll the truffle on your palm so that it's evenly coated with the tempered chocolate. Place the coated truffle on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with all of the truffles.
Once the chocolate coating is set, do a second coating of tempered chocolate on the truffles.
Before the second coating sets, sprinkle a little crushed candy canes on top. Then allow the second chocolate coating to set.
The chocolate truffles are now ready to be served.
Coating the truffles (EASIER OPTION)
Roll each truffle in cocoa powder, so that your peppermint truffles have a light coating of cocoa powder.
Once coated, the truffles are ready to be served.
Notes
Notes on using Candy meltsInstead of couverture chocolate, you can use chocolate candy melts to coat your truffles. Candy melts do not require tempering so they are easier to handle. They do not have the same “snap” as couverture chocolate, but they are still a great option. Notes on using other types of chocolateYou can also use tempered white chocolate or bittersweet chocolate to coat your chocolate peppermint truffles instead. Notes on dairy free / vegan trufflesIf you want to make dairy free chocolate truffles, replace the heavy cream with coconut cream. Most bittersweet chocolate is naturally dairy free, so you can use that. To compensate for the bitterness of bittersweet chocolate, replace 3 – 4 tbsp of the coconut cream with corn syrup / golden syrup, or honey.