Chocolate Orange Truffles – 2 ways

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This recipe for chocolate orange truffles is perfect for when you want to enjoy making something sweet with your family, but you don’t want to use complicated equipment or 12 ingredients. You really only need two to three ingredients to make the truffles.

Chocolate and canned coconut milk (you may also use light coconut milk).

Those ingredients are not hard to find. And then you can get creative and customize the truffles as you want. In fact, you don’t even have to make them chocolate orange truffles.

You can arrange the flavor in a few ways.

1. Choose your flavor of chocolate bar (See this Chocolate Fruit Variety Pack)
2. Add fresh orange zest if you are using un-flavored chocolate
3. Add vanilla extract if you choose
4. Roll the finished truffles in various toppings

When I’m teaching any recipe requiring melted chocolate, I explain how easy it is to burn it. People who don’t cook much don’t know this. For instance, if you put chocolate chips in the microwave to melt, if you wait until they look melted, they’re probably already burned. The texture will become thick and unworkable. You have to microwave it for only 30 seconds to start, stir well, and then 10-15 seconds at a time after that. Keep stirring until you’re confident that The best way to melt chocolate is called the water bath method, using or creating your own double boiler.

Weigh or measure your chocolate. You can use 9 oz of a chocolate bar that is already flavored, such as this Chocolate Orange chocolate bar. Feel free to choose a raspberry chocolate bar instead. You can also use Enjoy Life, my favorite brand of chocolate chips. I would use about one cup if you use the mini dark chocolate chips and 1 1/4 cup if you use the mega chunks. Enjoy Life also makes semi-sweet mini chocolate chips. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.

Warm the coconut milk in the microwave or on the stove top. Make it pretty hot, but not boiling. The coconut milk needs to melt (but not burn) the chocolate so make it as hot as you can, without bringing it to a boil. Pour the warm canned coconut milk over the chocolate chips (or broken up chocolate bar).

Quickly cover the bowl with a dish towel. Leave the bowl covered for 3-5 minutes and then mix, mix, mix until the chocolate is melted. If all of the chocolate does not melt, put it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time, being careful not to burn the chocolate.

If using an unflavored chocolate bar (or chips), add two teaspoons of orange zest. This is approximately what you will yield from one orange. Always choose organic if possible when zesting citrus. I love this zester. You may also add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract if you choose.

Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Take it out and form truffles using a cookie scoop OR scooping out approximately 1 Tablespoon and rolling it in your palms. You might want to wear gloves if you do this! Then roll each chocolate truffle into the topping of your choice.

Topping choices:

1. Orange zest
2. Crushed freeze-dried raspberries
3. Toasted shredded coconut or unsweetened toasted shredded coconut
4. Unsweetened finely shredded coconut
5. Cocoa or cacao powder
6. Any mix of the above!

Place the truffles back into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

This is a great home cooking activity right now. If you are going to be home for the day, or at least half of it, it is a short activity you can go back to twice during the day. This can work better than one longer activity for some children. In addition, they get to be excited twice. After the initial melting of the chocolate, they can look forward to rolling the truffles in the toppings, and then eating them when they’ve firmed up.

This is a very easy make-ahead dessert for Shabbat or other Jewish Holidays. It also doesn’t require you to cut or scoop and serve. Simply place on a serving tray, cover with plastic wrap (I like press’n seal), and place your chocolate truffles in the fridge or freezer.

Place on a dessert buffet or let your guests pass the tray while you enjoy your tea or coffee. No work for you!

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