Valentines Day Truffle Box

Everyone loves getting a box of chocolates on Valentines Day and biting into each piece hoping its your favorite kind. They typically are the store-bought kind and I thought it would be a fun challenge to make an assorted box of truffles for Josh as my gift to him. This was my first time making truffles and I thought it would be creative to play with different flavors and make more than just a basic chocolate truffle. So I came up with these flavors: cookie dough, peanut butter [with a white chocolate base], chocolate strawberry, white chocolate raspberry, and chewy salted caramels. All dipped in chocolate of course& then decorated with all things red, pink, sparkly and heart shaped! 

cookie dough!

It isn't difficult to make these truffle, its just time consuming because there is much down time waiting for every step to set up and cool properly, which requires a great deal of patience. I would definitely give yourself at least a day in advance to make these.

Decorating these was the most fun part because  each truffle really is a blank canvas. They can be decorated for any holiday, with any design, and in any color- the possibilities are endless. The best part is- they do not have to be perfect because you want that homemade look.  Put your own little touches on these, they can be as personalized as you want. Pipping out the recipients initials on some of the chocolates adds a nice little touch.

I also found a cute red tin box and some adhesive glitter hearts that I used to present the chocolate in. Pink mini muffin papers were used to hold each truffle and a piece of pretty heart tissue paper was draped over the chocolates.

 

More pictures, recipes, and how-to's after the jump!

 Peanut Butter Truffles - I halved this recipe
(adapted from Food Network)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 lb white chocolate, chips or chopped
- 1 cup peanut butter, smooth and creamy
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 bag semi- sweet chocolate

To make the ganache: In a bowl over a double boiler, scald the cream. Add the white chocolate in and mix until all melted and smooth. Mix in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours until set but scoopable.

On a lined sheet pan, scoop out tablespoonfuls of the ganache and roll into balls. Refrigerate until cold and set [*Tip: I put all of my truffle balls and caramel into the freezer for a few hours to make sure they were frozen solid, that way they will not get too soft when I dip them in the chocolate]

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Using 2 forks, dip the ganache balls into chocolate and shake off as much excess as possible[ *TIP: an easy way is by lightly hitting the fork on the side of the bowl with the chocolate, it will create vibrations and knock excess off]. Refrigerate until hardened until ready to decorate.

-Decorating tutorial at the end-

Cookie Dough Truffles
(adapted from Paula Deen ) 
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
- chocolate for melting (about a bag)

Make the basic cookie dough recipe (I left out the nuts). I let mine chill in the fridge before I rolled out into balls so It wouldn't be as sticky. Roll into 1 inch balls and chill on a lined baking sheet, again you can freeze these too.

Dip in chocolate melted chocolate, and shake off excess. These are nice to top with more mini chocolate chips & that must be done while the chocolate is not set yet.

White Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
(inspired by Ina Garten )
-2 tbsp heavy cream
- 7 ounces white chocolate, chopped or chips
- 2 tbsp raspberry jam, seedless and slightly warmed in the microwave
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- white chocolate for melting and dipping

Scald the cream in a double boiler. Off the heat, add the white chocolate and mix until completely smooth and melted. Add the raspberry jam and the vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until set but scoop-able. Follow same instructions for peanut butter truffles.

Melt white chocolate in double boiler and dip truffles.

Chocolate Strawberry Truffles
(inspired by Ina Garten)
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 7 ounces semi sweet or milk chocolate, chopped or chips
- 2 tbsp strawberry jam, seedless and slightly warmed in the microwave
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- semi sweet or milk chocolate for melting.

Follow extact instructions for peanut butter and white chocolate raspberry truffles.

Chewy Salted Caramels 
(adapted from All Recipes)
- 1 cup butter
- 2 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey [*this was my replacement for the corn syrup in this recipe]
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tsp salt, fleur de sel, pink himalayan..
- semi sweet or milk chocolate for melting

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment, letting some hang over as "handles" for pulling the caramel out later.

In a 4 qt saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sugar, honey, milk and bring to a boil until it reaches a "firm ball" consistency on a candy thermometer (248 degrees F). Stir in the vanilla and salt and pour into pan. Let it set at room temperature until cooled.

Cut into 1 inch squares and freeze until hard. Dip in chocolate [I like ratio of 30% milk to 70% semi sweet for this recipe] and sprinkle a little more salt on each while chocolate is warm.

Now onto decorating. . .

When all of the truffles have been dipped in chocolate and set, melt white chocolate or candy melts into a pipping bag (1 min at a time on power 40% until melted), cut the tip of the bag and drizzle over each piece, or make designs. Sprinkle with candies, or paint with pearl dust. The options are vast.

Enjoy!