I chose hazelnut truffles because Mom really likes hazelnuts, much more than anyone else in the family, and it's a fun and special treat for her. I use dark chocolate because it's much more elegant. And I don't use hazelnut liqueur or coffee (even though I've seen them in some recipes) because I don't like either of them, and truffles are quite good without them, so it's not worth buying those.
The first year, I really panicked because I didn't know what I could put the truffles in when I was finished, but I figured it out before Christmas. If you go to a craft supply store (like Michael's, Joann's, or Hobby Lobby), you'll find the supplies in the cake decorating aisle. For these recipes, you will want three 1/2 lb. candy boxes, a plastic candy dipper (they come in a package of two--one is oval and one looks like a football goal post), and little paper wrappers. I've found, however, that the ones labeled for candy are often too small. Mini-cupcake cups are usually better, though some are too big.
They also sell paper cushions to keep the truffles from rolling around in the box. For these recipes, if you plan to put the truffles in six boxes, you will need cushions. If you cram them into three boxes, like I do, there will be no extra space. You will have to tape the boxes shut. All of these recipes make three very full boxes of chocolates.
For chocolate, I recommend Trader Joe's Pound Plus chocolate, because it's good chocolate and you can buy a pound for $4. I use their dark chocolate (brown package) for dark or semisweet chocolate in these recipes. They also have milk chocolate or extra-dark chocolate. If you're looking at other brands, here's an article on what to look for. However, most recipes call for about a pound of chocolate (16 oz), and most bars/boxes of chocolate sold are only 6 oz or less. (In other words, the cost adds up.)
As to the hazelnuts, they are a pain to work with, because you must toast them (for flavor) and remove the skins (because the skins are bitter and they'll ruin the candy). The theory is that if you toast them for the right amount of time, the skins will loosen up and split, and then you can remove them by rubbing the hazelnuts inside a dishtowel. I've not had much success with this. One year the stores I visited were out of regular hazelnuts, and it was the end of a long day and I was frustrated, so I bought chopped hazelnuts at the regular grocery store. The skins didn't split, and I sat on the floor in my room for hours with a dishtowel and a paring knife, chipping the skins off the hazelnuts. Another year, I didn't see the skins splitting, and so I burnt an entire pound of hazelnuts. I had to throw them all out.
This year, for the first time, I saw skinned toasted hazelnuts on sale. They cost $5 for 7 oz (a pound of regular hazelnuts costs $4), but I think it's worth it. Seven ounces is plenty for most recipes. If you do toast and skin the hazelnuts yourself, here's how, and don't toast more than half a pound at a time. (This article also describes another method which I haven't seen before and haven't tried. It looks easier. Maybe next year.)
Hazelnuts are a very hard nut, and they may break your nut chopper, depending on what kind you have. If you're worried, the safest way is to put them in a ziploc bag on the counter (cushion with a towel) and whack them with a meat mallet or rolling pin until they're chopped. (You can also use a hammer, but not on your kitchen counter.) One year I made the ganache-with-hazelnuts late at night, and for some reason I hadn't chopped the hazelnuts beforehand when I had toasted and skinned them. Mom and Dad were upstairs sleeping, and as I got out the meat mallet and ziploc bag, I realized it would be way too loud. So I went outside into the car and sat in the driver's seat with a cutting board on my lap, whacking hazelnuts until the bag started to break. By then they were chopped enough for me to go inside and finish with a knife.
Truffles are made with ganache (hot cream poured over chocolate). I have tips on making ganache here. It's really quite easy. Two very important tips:
1) After you pour hot cream over chocolate (or remove hot cream from heat and add chocolate, depending on the recipe), DO NOT STIR for five minutes.
2) When you stir, you must use a whisk.
Now for the recipes!
Recipe 1: Chocolate-Nutella Ganache dipped in melted chocolate and hazelnuts
The first year I made truffles was 2006. I had come home for Christmas break and was rushing to cross-stitch a Christmas ornament for my sister and bake lots of Christmas cookies. As a result, my back had really been hurting, but I was determined to make truffles anyway. I planned with Dad to take Mom out somewhere and keep her out for at least five hours. I think they went to some-or-other Christmas party, and maybe to a movie. My sister was out and about, too.
Essence of the recipe: Make ganache by pouring hot cream (mixed with butter and corn syrup) over chocolate. Refrigerate ganache until you can roll it into balls. Roll it into balls. Refrigerate. Dip in melted chocolate and crushed hazelnuts. Refrigerate. Makes three full boxes of truffles and a gigantic mess.
Honestly, it was my first year, and I didn't quite know what I was getting myself into. My back was so sore that I had to sit down most of the time. The balls went straight from the melted chocolate to the chopped hazelnuts, and you can imagine what a mess that left. By the time I was finished, there was melted chocolate everywhere, even on the sink faucet, and I was much too sore to clean it up. I put a sign on the front door to my dad and/or my sister, asking whichever one of them got home first to clean up the kitchen and please not let Mom see it. My sister was the first to come home, and she took the sign down and cheerfully set to work. I don't know if she'll read this, but if she does, THANK YOU again!! Now you have a place in the truffle-making legends. :-)
Recipe 2: Chocolate-Hazelnut Ganache dipped in melted chocolate
The next two years, I made these, or some variation of them. They aren't round like most truffles, but they're truffles nonetheless. They also don't make quite so much mess, at least if you're doing it by yourself.
By this point I had learned a few things:
1) It's a good idea to put wax paper on the surface you're working on, especially when you're dipping the truffles.
2) Don't chill the truffle balls on a cookie sheet. They will roll off, or at least they'll try. I like to use a 9 x 13" glass pan lined with parchment paper (tape it in). You may need two pans after dipping, so the truffles aren't crowded.
3) The candy dippers really are necessary (though not for Recipe 1). A spoon just doesn't work--it wastes a lot of chocolate, and the coating doesn't look as good.
4) If extra chocolate drips harden on the parchment paper with the truffles, you can use a small sharp knife (straight, not serrated) to trim the edges of the truffles. Then you get to eat all the scraps.
Essence of the recipe: Make ganache, add chopped hazelnuts, and refrigerate mixture until you can roll it into balls. Roll it into balls. Press a whole hazelnut into the top of each ball. Refrigerate. Dip in melted chocolate. Refrigerate.
Recipe 3: Not-Really-Truffles
By 2009, I wanted to try a new recipe, and I did some more Google searching, but the above two were the only ones that didn't contain coffee or liqueur. I did, however, find a recipe for not-really-truffles that was mostly made of Nutella. Since it didn't need chopped hazelnuts, I figured it would be fun to try.
Essence of the recipe: Mix a jar of Nutella with dark chocolate, honey, and a bit of ghee. Refrigerate until you can roll it into balls. Roll into balls. Refrigerate. Dip in chocolate. Refrigerate.
The recipe called for ghee, which is clarified butter and is often used in India. It's basically butter that has had most of the water cooked off of it (butter is 15% water). The recipe only called for a tablespoon of ghee, and for such a small amount, I didn't want to spend $5 for ghee at a specialty foods store, nor did I want to try to make clarified butter on my own. I substituted unsalted butter instead (after a lot of internet searching to try to determine the proper substitute).
When it came time to roll the truffles into balls, I found that (surprise!) they were too watery. So I took each ball, squeezed out the extra liquid, patted it with a paper towel, and made it hold together (sort of) long enough for me to get it on the parchment paper to chill. I was a bit disappointed, because they didn't have the texture I had hoped for, but of course it's not ganache, so that's understandable. They were still delicious. These are probably the easiest of the bunch, except that it was really hard to get them to hold together. I suppose you really do have to use ghee.
Truffle Kit
As mentioned above, I made Mom a truffle kit this past Christmas. Ingredients: Toasted skinned hazelnuts (7 oz), a pound of dark chocolate, a small jar of Nutella, three 1/2 pound candy boxes, and mini cupcake wrappers.
We had a blast making Recipe 1 (the right way this time, with much less mess) and retelling all the stories. When we dipped the chocolates, we avoided the mess by lining the counter with wax paper and by having two people doing it. Mom used the candy dipper or her fingers to dip the truffle in the melted chocolate, and then she dropped it in the hazelnuts, where I covered it with hazelnuts using a spoon and lifted it out with a spoon or my fingers to put it on the drying sheet. They came out looking very nice, and with two people, we could each keep one clean hand. It was so much easier than I remembered! It also helped that the hazelnuts were pre-skinned and toasted.
Storage: After you make the truffles, you should keep them refrigerated. I make an exception for the time they're sitting wrapped under the Christmas tree, but I wrap them at the last minute and make sure they're opened within a few hours so they can go in the fridge. Mom usually puts them in the freezer so that she can have them once in a while for a special treat. Thaw before eating. They don't taste good frozen.
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