Manger a trois: Truffles

Ah, truffles. Delectable, tasty little morsels that make everything all right in the world. There are many who would be very surprised to find out how simple truffle-making can be. So simple, in fact, that we are probably about to create a cataclysmic event in which every Sarasota household goes into a whirlwind truffle-making frenzy.

You know, on second thought, that doesn’t sound like a bad thing.

EASY TRUFFLES
Makes about 40 1-inch truffles.
Ingredients:
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, divided
1 cup whole grain crispy brown rice, crushed
Method:
Combine chocolate with butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl, set aside. Bring heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Immediately pour over chocolate and butter, let sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir the chocolate-cream mixture, scraping edges and bottom of bowl until all the chocolate melts and a smooth sauce forms. If the lumps remain, place in microwave for 30 seconds and continue. Stir in honey. Pour into 9×11 baking dish. Lick spatula. Place in fridge for 1 hour.

Dust a plate with half the cocoa powder. Using a melon baller, scoop out truffles and place on cocoa powder dusted plate. Return to fridge for 30 minutes.

Combine crushed rice with remaining cocoa powder. Working in batches, remove a few from the fridge at a time, gently roll in palms to form a pretty ball as best you can, then roll in crushed crispy rice.

Serve immediately at room temperature.

MAKE THEM CHAI: Add one chai tea bag to cream before boiling, remove before pouring into baking dish.

BOOST THE ANTIOXIDANTS: Substitute dark chocolate for the semi-sweet and 1 cup toasted and finely chopped pecans for the crispy rice.

Find the Sarasota women behind Three Kitcheneers at threekitcheneers.com.