Red Wine Chocolate Truffles

The best part about chocolate truffles is the wine! You use ½ cup of red wine and you can enjoy the rest in a wine glass sipping while making yummy truffles. These do take a little time and are somewhat tedious, so keeping the wine glass full will help this process go a tad quicker.

Yields 30-40 truffles

Ingredients:

8 ounces (225 grams) high-quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped. I used 10.5 individual (.375oz.) squares of GHIRARDELLI Twilight Delight, 72% cocoa. The bag comes in 4.87oz leaving you with 2 extra.

1/2 (120 ml) cup dry, red wine (I used a Souverain Merlot)

 
2 tablespoons (30 grams) butter, melted 

1/2 cup (40 grams) cocoa powder

*Mini cupcake tins, powdered sugar and sprinkles optional.

Directions:

Place the finely chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the wine to a boil over medium-high. Remove from heat and pour wine over the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes to fully melt the chocolate. If it doesn't melt, you can stick the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to kick-start the melting process. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and is silky smooth. Stir in the melted butter.

Allow the chocolate to rest until it begins to firm up, about 45-60 minutes. Stir every 5 to 10 minutes. If the chocolate gets too hard, melt over a double boiler and repeat the cooling process. (Do not refrigerate or freeze the chocolate to shorten the cooling time. This will only result in truffles with an uneven texture.). I let mine sit overnight and in the morning lightly heated it up over some boiling water for a minute.

Place the cocoa powder in a small bowl. Using a spoon, pick up anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of chocolate (the amount will depend on how large you want your truffles) and roll it between your palms until it forms a sphere. 

Roll the truffle in the cocoa powder until it is completely covered. Place the truffle in a fine mesh strainer and shake to remove the excess cocoa powder. Set on a baking sheet to firm up. You can also mix in powdered sugar and sprinkles with your cocoa powder and roll your truffles in that. Place the truffles in mini cupcake tins and serve in holiday baked goodie baskets.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week (or in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 weeks). Bring the truffles back up to room temperature before serving. If the truffles have absorbed the cocoa powder, you can re-roll them before serving to give a more polished appearance.

Inspired by:

http://www.pastryaffair.com/blog/red-wine-chocolate-truffles.html

Note: These truffles do contain alcohol and should be kept out of the hands of children.