Recipes

Fresh Mint Truffles

Jack Czarnecki

The Joel Palmer House, Dayton, OR

If you want to elicit some serious ooohs and ahhhs from the guests at your next dinner party, conclude the meal with a platter of homemade chocolate truffles. In this recipe, fresh mint leaves result in a clean herbal taste not normally associated with mint-flavored candies. These particular truffles—and, in fact, most truffles—are surprisingly easy to make. But your dinner guests don’t ever need to know that!

Ingredients

1 pound excellent quality white chocolate, broken into pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons white crème de menthe
1 tablespoon green crème de menthe
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 pound excellent quality couverture (or dipping) chocolate, preferably bittersweet

Method

In the top of a double boiler, slowly melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Add the chopped mint, crème de menthes, and butter, and continue melting until the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl and place it in the freezer until firm but not frozen, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Using a cold metal teaspoon and your hands, mold the white chocolate mixture into small balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. If the mixture gets too soft to mold easily, put it back in the freezer for a few minutes. Place the tray of white chocolate balls in the freezer until firm.

Melt the couverture in the top of a double boiler until smooth. Dip the frozen white chocolate balls in the melted chocolate and transfer to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. A small fork or chopsticks are effective dipping tools. Try to make sure the melted chocolate coats the balls evenly and try to minimize the amount that drips off the balls onto the paper. Place the finished truffles in the refrigerator until they are set. Once the chocolate coating has hardened, the chocolates should be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.