Mmmmmm …chocolate, am I right? The moment of bliss when it melts in your mouth is indescribable. It’s delicious in bar form, candy-coated morsels or surrounding dried fruit, but the ultimate chocolate experience is a truffle. The snap of a perfectly tempered shell followed by a silky-smooth ganache center is simply unmatched. Tired of waiting in long holiday lines at the mall, or wish you could customize flavors and ingredients? By learning to make chocolate truffles yourself, you are in charge of the confectionary experience. And you absolutely can do it! With a few foundational skills and a little bit of scientific understanding, you will be on your way to creating the mouthwatering truffles of your dreams.

Who amongst us takes the time to read the ingredients in store-bought chocolates? I know that for years I didn’t give those lists even a glance. At the most basic level, truffles should contain just chocolate, cream and butter, along with any flavorings you choose to include. Artisan truffles or bonbons may include a few additional sugars to extend shelf life (let me know in the comments if you want to learn more about that in a future post) but mass-produced chocolate goodies often have all sorts of unpronounceable fillers and preservatives as well as nasty oils and sweeteners that are really best to avoid. In some cases, they may be so atuldrated that they are not even allowed to legally be marketed as "Chocolate." Just like anything you cook at home, when you make it yourself, you get to control what’s in it.

2. They make an amazing gift.

Believe it or not, I actually got my start making truffles as Christmas gifts. Why burden your friends and family with things that will take up space and collect dust? In fact, the concept of “social inefficiency” (credited to economist Joel Waldfogel) addresses the resource and economic waste resulting from people giving gifts the recipient doesn’t actually want. Consumables are where it's at! However, cookies aren’t cutting it this year. If you have people in your life with a taste for sweets, truffles are an elegant and indulgent surprise. Give them a truly special treat in a beautiful package. Truffles are an impressive gift that is easy to master and more affordable than you might think.

They're perfect for:

• Birthdays
• Valentine's Day
• Easter
• Mother's and Father's Days
• Graduations
• Housewarmings
• Christmas
• or a "Just Because" gift

You can adapt these spheres of velvety decadence to any dietary restrictions you might have. So many people tell me they “can’t have chocolate” for one reason or another.  But unless you are actually allergic to it, I call BS. When you make your own truffles, you get to control what’s in them. They can easily be made vegan, organic, and allergen-free (just to name a few). There are sugar-free chocolates on the market, and you can add as much grass-fed butter or coconut oil to your truffles as your heart desires (ya know, as long as there’s still chocolate in there).

Think about it, shopping for and taste testing…chocolate?? Exploring the nuances of ruby, white, milk, dark, 100% cacao, and everything in between? Yes, please! Plus, it doesn’t heat up the kitchen like baking and, in most cases, it can be a really forgiving process to learn. Stick to the basics, reimagine your favorite mass-produced truffles on your own terms, or explore endless worlds of flavor and texture combinations. Once you know the rules you can learn how to break (or bend) them.

So if you are ready to stop drooling over the goodies on Instagram and Pinterest and learn to make truffles that are exactly the way YOU want them, click to download my FREE “Truffle Time” roadmap. I created this *free* resource for you that is going to help you avoid the pitfalls that I spent so much time in (two steps forward, one step back all the way!) and give you the four process for making decadent chocolate truffles, right at home. 

This roadmap literally shows you the exact steps you should take (and in what order!) + common mistakes to avoid that will take you from standing in line at the chocolate shop to being buried in compliments for the incredible treats YOU made.