Forget the store-bought chocolate bunnies. Brooke thinks you can even put away the Peeps. This Sunday, stock your family and your friends’ Easter baskets with the ooey gooey goodness of homemade chocolate truffles.

If Jamie didn’t have such a sweet tooth, we would never have tried to make our own miniature chocolate bombs. (They’re intimidating, right?) But Godiva and the like can get expensive. And, really, the store-bought stuff can be kind of cloying--it’s all too sweet, too artificial.

The beauty of homemade chocolates--especially of the truffle variety-- is that you can temper the sweetness and the price. And here’s the best-kept secret of all: they’re a snap to make. The semi-sweet, bite-sized delicacies are nothing more than chocolate ganache, quite simply, melted chocolate combined with some sort of natural additive (like cream or butter) that keeps it soft.

A classic chocolate truffle recipe calls for a little unsweetened cocoa powder to finish off the formed balls. The cocoa is supposed to resemble loose dirt that naturally clings to the *real* subterranean truffles after they’re unearthed. It’s a fun touch and a delicious counterpoint to the sweetness off the ganache.

So think out of the Easter basket and make a batch of truffles at home following Jamie’s super simple recipe. And to really make your chocolates stand out, we recommend a dash of bourbon and a sprinkle of shredded coconut. Your Easter basket never had it so good.


Chocolate-Bourbon Truffles

1 cup heavy whipping cream?
¼ stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter?
16 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, broken into small pieces ?
2 tablespoons bourbon

Truffle Coatings:
Cocoa powder
Ground almonds
Ground hazelnuts
Shredded, sweetened coconut

Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepot. Add the chocolate and butter to the boiling cream, remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture into a bowl and stir in the bourbon. Refrigerate until firm.

Set up a work station: Fill a coffee mug with hot water from the tap. Place a teaspoon or melon baller in the water. Place a sheetpan that will fit in the refrigerator on the countertop and line with wax paper. Scoop small ‘balls’ of chocolate on the wax paper, dipping the spoon back into the water between each scoop. Continue until the tray is full, then place in the refrigerator until firm.  Make small plates of whatever coating you choose: cocoa powder, ground nuts (almonds, coconut, hazelnut, etc.) or powdered sugar.

Remove the chocolates from the fridge and roll each ball between the palms of your hands to make them round. (Be prepared, this is a messy job!) Roll in the plates of coatings and return to the refrigerator.