In our debut issue, we feature Michele Carder, owner of Michele's on Main, in "Art that's good enough to eat."

She shared her favorite recipe for truffles below, and further down are a few hints on how to make your own chocolate--from scratch!

Cookie Crumb Truffles, Michele's favorite treat!

Ingredients:
--4 cups crushed chocolate creme filled sandwich cookies (Oreos or generic)
--4 Tbsp. orange juice or Maraschino Cherry juice; 1 bag (10-12 oz.) of milk, semi-sweet, or white chocolate chips
--Extra cookie crumbs, pecans, toasted coconut, mini chocolate chips, toffee crumbles or anything you wish to top your truffles

Instructions:
1. Mix the crushed cookies and the juice together until the mixture is smooth and soft throughout.
2. Drop by round teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet or pizza pan covered with wax paper. Place in freezer for 30 minutes to let the droplets firm.
3. Just before removing droplets from the freezer, melt 1/2 bag of chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Stir until chocolate is completely smooth and melted.
5. Remove droplets from freezer and drop them, one by one, in the melted chocolate coating, cover in chocolate and return droplets to the baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle the tops of the now-truffles with any topping while the chocolate is still warm. You have to work fairly quickly; if the melted chocolate hardens back up, heat in the microwave at 30 seconds as before. The finished truffles will harden up with no refrigeration needed. They keep well and even freeze well.

Extra Impressive Instructions: Take a maraschino cherry with the stem intact and coat with the soft cookie mixture, leaving the stem exposed. Freeze and coat with melted chocolate and sprinkle with topping as before (using mini-chocolate chips creates an extra-detailed look!) Dipping a truffle in milk chocolate and then drizzling with milk chocolate, or vice-versa, creates a dramatic appearance.

Here's a link to more truffle recipes.

How to make your own chocolate:

Ingredients:
--Shelled/husked and roasted cocoa beans (from your local co-op),
--Cocoa butter or coconut butter,
--Sweetener of choice
--Coffee Grinder

Instructions:
1. Put the shelled cocoa beans through a coffee grinder, over and over, until there is a smooth, oily appearance.
2. Add cocoa/coconut butter, keeping the same texture, and as much or as little sweetener as desired.
3. The process isn’t as difficult as the ingredients are rare and slightly expensive; the coffee grinder might also have to be relegated to cocoa grinding, as the leftover oil may linger.

Here's a link to more specific information on making your own chocolate!

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• Posted by miranda adkins in MiscellaneousMiscellaneous
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