truffles are the easiest chocolate candy!

Everybody is always so impressed by chocolate truffles. They're rich and decadent and absolutely delicious... and they're just a cinch to make.

The way to make them easy is to forego dipping them in tempered melted chocolate. Instead, just roll them in cocoa powder. That's the traditional way to make truffles, anyway. And they are not supposed to be perfect balls. They are supposed to resemble their lumpy mushroom-like cousins, dusted with earth... so just slap them into shape and run them through the cocoa, and call them done!

OK. These directions are written in my usual wordy style, so don't worry if they look long. I promise this is really, really easy!

The classic proportions for the ganache (chocolate plus cream) are 8 oz. chocolate plus 1/2 cup heavy cream. I usually make at least a double batch. A pound of chocolate will yield 2 to 3 dozen truffles, depending on how big you make them.

For every 8 oz. of chocolate, you can add up to 1 Tablespoon of the liquor of your choice. Good options are Kahlua, Grand Marnier, Kirsch (especially if you fold in about 6 oz. of chopped dried sour cherries), Framboise, and Amaretto. You can further enhance the flavor by adding orange oil, almond oil extract, etc. Do not add water based flavorings to chocolate.

Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate makes the best truffles, I think.

Chop the chocolate fairly finely so it melts easily. Just take your biggest knife and cut little slices all down the length of the block, then turn it 90 degrees and chop away in the other direction. Put it into a bowl big enough that the chocolate fills it not much more than halfway so you'll have room to stir.

Scald the heavy cream. (Do not use anything lighter than whipping cream. Truffles are supposed to be decadent. If you want a "lite" truffle, make a tiny one.) Scalding means to heat it slowly until the surface steams and little bubbles appear around the edges... do not let the cream boil!

Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon. The cream will gradually melt the chocolate into smooth lusciousness. After a few minutes, if some chocolate bits remain, you can help it along with the microwave, carefully. Microwave at half power for just a few seconds at a time, maybe 15 or 20 seconds at most, and then stir gently until the chocolate mixture is entirely smooth.

Now you have made ganache.