Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by Valentine’s Day.
Great, so now that we agree V-Day is the worst (and Mean Girls is still the best), I think we could all benefit from a little self-love. Nothing says “I love me” more than indulging on wine and chocolate, so let’s do that!
I mean, what’s better than curling up on the couch after a busy day with a glass of Cab and anything chocolate? Not much. Except, perhaps, these red wine chocolate truffles rolled in berry dust.
I got the idea to roll the truffles in a vibrant powder after writing my post 3 Interesting Ways to Use Your Coffee Grinder. Rather than using beetroot chips as Ania from Lazy Cat Kitchen does, I used freeze-dried strawberries and raspberries for a sweet and tangy element to balance out the bitterness of the wine and chocolate. But, if you’ve got an earthy palette, check out one of the links above to on how to make beetroot powder. They both provide that bold, rosy maroon color we’re going for.
This was my first attempt at truffles, and well—let’s just say I have lots of advice. First, keep your truffles fairly small—these babies are rich. Second, get yourself a small to medium sized cookie scoop to ensure uniformly shaped balls. And lastly, the chocolate melts very quickly when it touches warm hands, so it helps to put the truffle mixture in the freezer 15 minutes prior to scooping the balls. Using a cookie scoop—rather than, say, a huge ice cream scoop—will also help because it cuts down the amount of time the chocolate is in your hands.
Most of all, have fun! Allow yourself to be a beginner and remember if you love yourself, you will love your food.
💕
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red wine (I used a red blend)
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate
- 3/4 heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- freeze-dried strawberries/raspberries
Instructions
Heat the chocolate with a double boiler or put it in a glass bowl on top of a pot of simmering water.
In a separate pot, heat the cream, butter, and vanilla until it just starts to boil, then turn off the heat and add hot cream mixture to the chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until combined, then add wine and continue to mix until consistency is smooth and silky.
Pour chocolate mixture into an 8×8 inch square dish and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours, until firm.
About 15 minutes before you make the truffles, put the chocolate in the freezer to firm up a bit more. Scoop the mixture until it fills the cookie scoop, release, then form into balls (the quicker the better) and roll in the powder. You can fix the shape a little at this point, if needed.
Ditch the Recipe 