Monday, February 1, 2016

Chocolate Truffles and a Big Valentine's Day Giveaway

Who needs chocolates in a heart-shaped box when you can make your own (without milk, gluten, or nuts) at home?  I've never been a fan of those chocolates in the heart boxes anyway. I admit, I like my chocolate dark and plain.

Today I am sharing my favorite chocolate truffle recipe... AND... I have teamed up with some fabulous gluten-free bloggers to bring you an awesome giveaway.


Allergy-friendly Chocolate Truffles

¼ cup So Delicious coconut creamer
1 ½ tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Shortening (or another shortening)
1 cup allergen-free chocolate chips
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup cocoa (I prefer natural unsweetened) and/or candy sprinkles

The coconut creamer is the perfect replacement for traditional cream in these truffles because it contains thickeners. Use your favorite allergen-free chocolate chips with this recipe. Pascha, Enjoy Life, and Divvies chocolate chips all work beautifully, and any size chocolate chip will work.

Let's get started making truffles, shall we?

Melt the coconut creamer and shortening together over medium heat. Slowly bring it to a boil. When boiling, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla (if desired). Mix vigorously until you have a creamy ganache:


Refrigerate for an hour. Before refrigerating, I transferred the ganache to a mixing bowl to prepare for the next step -- soften the ganache with a mixer (use the paddle blade for about 30 seconds). It should look like this:



Scoop out truffle-sized balls of chocolate using a small spoon, and place them on a lined cookie sheet. Don't worry about how they look at this point.


Use your hands to gently roll the chocolate into smooth balls. (This works best with gentle pressure and cool hands.) Place them back on the cookie sheet. If you want Classic Chocolate Truffles, place the cocoa in a shallow bowl and gently roll each truffle into the chocolate until just coated:


Or, to make the wonderful Valentine's Chocolate Truffles you see below, roll the truffles in the candy sprinkles to coat them on all sides.


Refrigerate the truffles for an hour before sharing them with someone you love! 

Now for the BIG giveaway.

More than a dozen bloggers have teamed up to bring you Sweets for Your Sweeties and a fabulous giveaway, a KitchenAid Stand Mixer (in choice of color) and the accessory stainless steel bowl. (I love having two bowls for my stand mixer!) The contest is open to U.S. residents only,18 and older and ends Wednesday, 2/10 at 11:59 pm Mountain Time. To enter, please leave a comment here, and then maximize your chances to win with all of the entry methods allowed:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


And, be sure to visit all of the participating blogs and check out the goodies:


Happy Valentine's Day!!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I have always loved Valentine's Day--my mom made sure to make it about love and pink/red and hearts, not about boyfriends or heart breakers!

Cindy said...

Truffles are my favorite! Thank you so much for offering such a wonderful giveaway.

Mohsin Khan said...

Happy valentines day gif card I have a good collection of happy valentine day heart gif wallpapers you can download free

Cathy B*****y said...

what a "sweet" giveaway and recipes! My sweetie loves anything chocolate. And I am constantly looking for new recipes in all categories that help us attain a healthier lifestyle...especially in the food area. Can't wait to try the chocolate truffle recipe!
Cathy B
Winning this giveaway would be such a blessing.. A kitchen Aid stand mixer has been on my wishlist for years!!

Camille P. said...

This looks like a WONDERFUL holiday treat for my daughter's class, where there are many with gluten and nut allergies! You could make this recipe for any holiday or celebration by changing up the color of the sprinkles. Put them on a stick and they can be truffle pops!

Heather said...

Coconut chocolate truffles -- love the combination. Happy hearts day!

Michelle J. said...

The KitchenAid we got for our wedding broke some time ago, so this would be amazing!

Chandice said...

Great recipe!! So cute for Valentines!

Unknown said...

Looks amazing! Can't wait to try as we are a gluten and nut free house!

Unknown said...

Hi! I've made a lot of truffles but never any with the flavored creamers. I'm making these tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe and thanks for the giveaway. I so want to win a mixer!