I think the best kind of gifts to give people during the Holidays are ones from the heart, and what better way to express your love than homemade EDIBLE presents?  Nothing beats a happy belly I will be featuring 3 different types of edible holiday gifts to give to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc.  Part one are these beautiful and decadent Holiday Truffle Sampler Box.  You can choose any toppings you’d like to roll your truffles in, I chose toasted pecans,coconut, cocoa, and peppermint.

These were not only easy to assemble but really fun to make.  I bought some chocolate boxes and wrappers from my local craft store and finished the packages with some ribbon and cute little christmas decorations.  If you make these in large batches, they become really cost effective.  I was able to make 64 truffles, 8 per box, and it averaged out to be only $4/box!!

Ingredients for Dark Chocolate Truffle Base:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 24 oz semi-sweet dark chocolate (preferably Ghiradelli)
• 2 tablespoons brandy or dark rum
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream at medium heat until it begins to simmer.  Place the broken up dark chocolate pieces in a large bowl and pour the hot cream ontop.  Add the brandy and vanilla, and allow mixture to sit for 1 minute.  Using a rubber spatula, mix ingredients together until the chocolate is smooth and shiny.  Make sure all chocolate is thoroughly melted, if needed pop it in the microwave for 20 sec intervals if you find chocolate pieces still remaining.

Be sure to Place chocolate mixture in the fridge for 1 hour, or until very firm.  Once it is set, you can either use a tablespoon or a melon baller and scoop chocolate onto parchment paper.  Return to the fridge for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare your toppings for the truffles.  I used a meat mallet to crush up my candy canes and nuts –I cut up a paper grocery bag and put the nuts and candy inbetween the sheets of paper so that pieces of nuts and candy wouldn’t be flying all over the place You can also use a towel and if you do not have a meat mallet use a heavy jar.

Remove the truffles from the fridge and shape into balls using your hands.  If you have vinyl/latex gloves, you may use them during this process.  Roll the tuffle balls in the different toppings and place them on a large pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat until all truffles are coated.  Return chocolates to refrigerator  and allow to sit for at least 1 hour.  Place chocolates in wrappers and assemble in boxes.  Decorate them however you’d like and they are ready to go!

You can also choose to do milk chocolate if you are not a fan of dark and you may also used flavored liqours like Grand Marnier or flavored extracts like peppermint or cinnamon.  Be creative!

I’ll be going to Michigan to visit honey’s grandparents tomorrow — I can’t wait for the snow!!! I have been hearing crazy stories about the temperatures being in the single digits and that frightens me a little bit, I pretty much own zero winter clothes since I live in Texas so wish me luck hahaha.  Happy Holidays yall!