Trouble With Toast

Recipe: Bourbon-Caramel Truffles

Okay, I know I am terribly behind in terms of Top Chef – last week’s Italian-themed episode didn’t really leave me with a whole lot to talk about (I just thought it was a lackluster elimination challenge, and don’t even get me STARTED on that ridiculous quickfire), and I couldn’t keep the ol’ eyelids open long enough to watch last night’s episode.  I’ll get right on that.

In the meantime, how about a recipe fit for Valentine’s Day?  Yes, I think V-Day is stupid (you should tell your loved ones how you feel about them as much as possible, not just on some arbitrary day in the lamest month imaginable), but I’ve had this truffle recipe sitting in the hopper since Christmas, so what better time to bust it out than when the store shelves are already filled with candies and chocolates galore?

Truffle-making is supposed to be pretty easy, so I thought I’d up the ante by using a Cooking Light recipe.  Nothing tends to screw up a good thing like making it healthier, right?  In any case, they WERE pretty easy to make, but I certainly didn’t get them 100% right on the first try.  The flavor was great (I used high-quality chocolate, which I’m sure made a difference), and the texture was fine (they weren’t gritty or grainy, despite the lack of tons of full-fat dairy), but they got REALLY hard while in the fridge.  Like, hard to the point where I couldn’t scoop or shape them.  So, I wound up with a bunch of oddly-shaped little brown things – my husband, the guinea pig, said that they tasted good but that they looked disturbingly like what our dog deposits in the grass every day (thus, no photo).  Not the high praise I was hoping for.

I’m going to try them again, this time chilling them for about half the time.  If anyone tries this in the near future, let me know how it goes.

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2  tablespoons  evaporated whole milk
• 1  tablespoon  golden cane syrup (such as Lyle’s Golden Syrup)
• Dash of salt
• 1  tablespoon  bourbon
• 1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 3.5  ounces  bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1.75  ounces  milk chocolate, finely chopped
• 2  tablespoons  unsweetened cocoa

Combine brown sugar, milk, cane syrup, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in bourbon and vanilla extract. Add chocolates; let stand 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Pour into a shallow dish; cover and chill 4 hours. Heat a tablespoon measure with hot water; pat dry. Scoop chocolate mixture with spoon; dip in cocoa. Roll into balls. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.