Extremely Dark Chocolate Truffles

While I was walking through Trader Joe's the other day, I saw this HUGE bar of chocolate. I didn't even think about what I could make with it, I just bought it, and I'm glad I did. What else can you make with a huge block of chocolate but chocolate truffles? I like to call these truffles "Extremely Dark Chocolate Truffles" because of the 73% Cacao. I think most people use 60% or below, but the darker, the better. 

Truffles are surprisingly easy to make and require 4 (yup, you read that correctly) ingredients: heavy cream, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and bittersweet chocolate. Easy, peasy!

Here's the line-up:

First off, you want to chop the chocolate and heat the heavy cream until it just starts boiling.

Next, pour the heavy cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for about a minute before you stir. You can also add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Stir the mixture until it looks like melted chocolate. Cover and put in the fridge for a couple hours.

Once the chocolate is nice and chilled, take it out of the fridge. Use a spoon to dig out little balls of chocolate. You're going to want to work quickly because the warmth of your hands melts the chocolate.

Put them on a piece of parchment. Roll the little balls in some cocoa powder.

Voila! 

Dark Chocolate Truffles from here:

8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chopped into small pieces

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Cocoa powder

1 In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer.

2 Place the chocolate in a separate bowl. Pour the cream over the chocolate, add the vanilla, and allow to stand for about a minute, then stir until smooth.

3 Allow to cool, then place in the refrigerator for two hours. Remove and roll out balls of the chocolate. Roll in your hands quickly and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

4 Roll in cocoa powder.

You can serve it chilled or at room temperature.

Yield: Makes 30-40 chocolate truffles.

Katsudon

Today is the last day of my spring break, and my b/f wanted to make it special by making Katsudon for me. If you're like me and don't know what katsudon is, let me tell you. It's a bowl layered with rice, sauteed onions, fried egg, donkatsu cutlets, and parsley. I've never had it before, so I was really excited to try it. As he slaved away in the kitchen, I wanted to be helpful by baking something for dessert, but that's for the next post!

My first bite was amazing, and I loved everything about it! It's definitely a comfort food that I can imagine eating on any occasion. I wish I could've taken pictures of the process, but I was busy so all you get is the final product.

I believe this is the recipe he used, although the original recipe uses chicken instead of pork:
Katsudon Recipe and Katsudon Recipe 2
Both are good starting points for making your very own Katsudon! Bon appetit!

Lemon Bars

It's been a long time, friend! I do realize that the last post I made was in August. Horrible, I know. I can't blame my lack of updating on anything except my laziness. Thank you to my friend, Debbie, for the constant encouragement to update my blog...AND for passing along this recipe! Let's get straight to it!

I've come to realize that this lemon bar recipe is one that everyone enjoys, even people who don't normally like lemon bars love this recipe. It's not as goopy as the ones you eat/buy in restaurants or bakeries. I love them because they have this delicate, lemon flavor, and the crust is to die for!

It's been awhile, so I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients that you'll need, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. :)

First off, combine flour, powdered sugar, and cold butter into a food processor.

Pulse until the butter is incorporated and it starts clumping together.

Dump the dough into a 9x13 baking dish.

Spread evenly before pressing it down to make the crust.

Here's what the crust should look like before putting it into the oven to bake.

While the crust is baking, start making the filling. Combine eggs and sugar.

Add lemon juice and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

Here's the important part: FOLD GENTLY AND DON'T OVERMIX!

It's okay if there are a couple small clumps of flour. 

The crust should be lightly browned.

Add the lemon filling on top of the crust and put back into the oven

Bake lemon bars for 25 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.

The final product: Chewy, lemony goodness!

Lemon Bars by Claudia Hinnebusch

For the crust:

1c butter

2c flour

1/2c powdered sugar

Mix as pie crust. pat into 9x12 pan. 

Bake 350 for 20 min or until light brown

For the filling:

4 eggs

2c sugar

4T lemon juice

4T flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking powder

Beat eggs & sugar - 3 min

Add lemon juice & mix

Gently fold in flour salt, baking powder

Spread on crust and bake 350F for 25 min until set

Once it has cooled, dust with powdered sugar. 

Cut into squares and serve!