Kids Cuisine

This is weird. Before today, I have never made one of my all time favorite indulgences, chocolate truffles. And I love to cook and bake. I never really thought of making them myself, and they look hard to make.

Yesterday, my daughter and I were grocery shopping and looking for something fun we could make together. I was dry on ideas, so I started peeking at labels on the baking aisle. A bag of bittersweet Ghirardelli chips beckoned, and on the back was a simple, four-ingredient recipe for dark chocolate truffles. I was sold, and so was my daughter. As she informed me, “Chocolate is my favorite food, mommy!” Agreed!

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Truffles

• 2 cups Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• Dark chocolate cocoa powder

Making it was surprisingly simple. You heat the cream in a saucepan until simmering, then add the butter and let it melt. Add the chips and stir until melted. The only real issue was warning her to avoid touching the pan while stirring.

Pour the melted chocolate into a shallow dish that can handle the heat, and allow it to cool at room temperature. Place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours (it was actually a little longer for us), and expect to endure repeated questions about whether the chocolate is ready.

Then I rolled the chocolate into balls (uber messy, but fun), while she rolled it around a bowl of cocoa powder to dust the truffles. In the end, they didn’t turn out all that pretty. She didn’t quite get the hang of handling the mushy truffle balls gently, or how to completely cover them with cocoa.

They certainly were delicious, but very rich. One at a time is enough. I think I may have discovered something to make for Christmas gifts that are cheap, easy to make, can be kid-made gifts, and impress!