Peppermint Dark Chocolate Truffles

Place one cup of semisweet chocolate and one cup of bittersweet chocolate in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Bring the cream to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. When the cream begins to bubble, gently pour it over the chocolate chips mixture. Stir with a whisk until melted and smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least two hours.

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Scoop the chilled chocolate out of the bowl in your desired truffle sizes/shapes and put them on the sheet of waxed paper. Repeat until all of the chocolate mixture has been used. Place the pan in the freezer for at least one hour or until the truffles have started to harden.

Quickly roll the chilled truffles in the palms of your hands to form smooth spheres. If they start to get too sticky, return the pan to the freezer, and repeat when they have hardened. Once the truffles have all been rolled, stick a toothpick into the center of each and return to the freezer.

Temper the remaining two and a half cups of bittersweet (dark) chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. (See note below *).

While the chocolate is melting, prepare your work station. Cover two foam blocks with plastic wrap, securing the plastic to the blocks with tape. Place the chopped peppermint in a small bowl.

Once the chocolate has melted, remove the truffles from the freezer. Begin dipping each truffle into the chocolate, while holding it by the toothpick.** Once coated, stick the exposed end of the toothpick into the foam and immediately sprinkle the top of the truffle with peppermint. Repeat until all truffles have been coated in chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint. Chill until the chocolate has hardened completely.

Makes about 60 small truffles.

*To temper the chocolate place two cups of the chocolate in a bowl and place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Once it reaches 110 F remove the bowl from the heat and set aside. When the chocolate has cooled to about 90 F add in the remaining half cup of chocolate and stir until combined and smooth. You may need to place it back over the double boiler while dipping the truffles to make sure it stays smooth.

**I like to not cover the bottom of the truffle (the area surrounding the toothpick) so that the toothpick comes out easily. This also ensures a flat bottom so they don’t roll.