These homemade chocolate truffles are extra creamy with the addition of butter. After mixing the 4 ingredients together, let the mixture set in the refrigerator, then roll into balls. Follow this homemade truffles recipe and the helpful video tutorial below!
Making homemade chocolate truffles couldn’t be easier and after watching the video tutorial below, you’ll agree with excitement! They come together faster then even homemade peanut butter eggs. Homemade truffles are the perfect quick & easy treat for holidays and I’m right here to guide you along. Ditch the boxed chocolates!
Chocolate lovers, rejoice. 🙂
Chocolate truffles are a deeply indulgent chocolate treat made from chocolate and cream. They’re essentially balls of chocolate ganache. And great news: they sound so much fancier than they are to make!
If you’re making these around Valentine’s Day, I love coating them in pink and red sprinkles. Pair with Valentine’s Day cookies and Valentine’s Day cupcakes for a trio of epic February 14 treats!
Only 2 Ingredients in Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate and heavy cream are the only ingredients in homemade chocolate truffles. However, I add 2 extra ingredients for texture and flavor. These extras will turn your regular truffles into the BEST CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES. And after writing an entire cookbook on truffles and candy recipes, I know that’s a fact!
- Chocolate: 8 ounces of quality chocolate is the base of chocolate truffles. Do not use chocolate chips because they will not melt into truffle consistency. Chocolate chips are great for recipes like chocolate chip cookies where we want the chips to stay mostly intact, but here want to reach for quality chocolate bars which are sold as 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. Use milk chocolate for sweeter truffles or semi-sweet/dark chocolate for extra rich truffles. If using milk chocolate, reduce the cream to 1/2 cup as milk chocolate is much softer than dark chocolate.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is also a base ingredient. Do not use half-and-half or any other liquid because the truffles won’t set up properly. See recipe note for a non-dairy alternative.
- Butter: 1 scant Tablespoon of softened butter transform these into the creamiest truffles you will ever taste. You will never go back!
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds exceptional flavor to your chocolate truffles.
With so few ingredients, it’s imperative to follow the recipe. After years of candy making, I find the ratio of 8 ounces of chocolate to 2/3 cup heavy cream is the most favorable. Truffles are too firm with less liquid. Stick to this recipe for truffle success!
How to Make Chocolate Truffles in 5 Steps
- Warm Cream: Pour warm cream over chopped chocolate.
- Do Nothing: Before stirring, let the warm cream and chocolate sit in the bowl for a few minutes. Don’t touch it!
- Stir: Stir until the chocolate is melted.
- Refrigerate: Refrigerate until the mixture is set, about 1-2 hours.
- Roll: Roll into balls and coat in toppings like sprinkles, cocoa powder, or crushed nuts. You can also dip the truffles in melted or tempered chocolate. And I have an in-depth explanation for tempered chocolate in Sally’s Candy Addiction if you have a copy.
Sticky Situation: These are extra creamy truffles, which are the most delicious variety. The downside to creamy truffles is that they’re sticky to roll. You can wear rubber gloves or coat your hands in cocoa powder, but here is my #1 trick and it makes rolling SO MUCH EASIER. Scoop the truffle mixture into mounds on a lined baking sheet. (Pictured above.) Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes so the mounds “dry out.” After that, they are a little less sticky to roll. You can watch me do this in the video tutorial.
Troubleshooting Truffles
Even though there are so few ingredients and steps, a couple mishaps can happen. Let me help you troubleshoot through the chocolate truffle recipe.
- The chocolate won’t melt: One trick for successful truffles is to chop the chocolate into very small pieces. The finer the chocolate chunks, the quicker they’ll melt. Additionally, the chocolate might not melt because the cream is not hot enough. Make sure it is simmering warm before pouring over the chocolate. If the chocolate still isn’t melting, place the heat-proof bowl over a pot of 1 inch of simmering water and stir until melted. I usually do this.
- The ganache won’t thicken: Make sure you are using quality chocolate, not chocolate chips, and heavy cream. You can also pour the mixture into a shallow dish so it thickens quicker. And finally, keep it in the refrigerator until thickened.
- The chocolate is greasy and separating: If the truffle mixture is greasy or separating, the heavy cream was too hot.
- The truffle mixture is too sticky: See “Sticky Situation” above.
- Rolled truffles are too dry for toppings: Mash the truffle between your palms and re-roll so it’s sticky enough for the toppings.
By the way, if you love chocolate truffles, you will flip for these peanut butter balls, cookie dough truffles, rum balls, and Oreo balls.
See Your Recipe Success!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
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Homemade Chocolate Truffles Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 20-24 truffles
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Shaping
- Cuisine: American
Description
These homemade chocolate truffles are extra creamy with the addition of butter. After mixing the ingredients together, let the mixture set in the refrigerator, then roll into balls. You can coat in your favorite toppings and add lots of fun flavors, too! The mixture gets a little sticky, so refer back to my tips in the blog post above.
Ingredients
- two 4-ounce quality semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate bars (226g), very finely chopped*
- 2/3 cup (160ml) heavy cream*
- optional: 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- toppings: unsweetened cocoa powder, sprinkles, crushed nuts, melted or tempered chocolate
Instructions
- Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the heavy cream until it is simmering. You can heat it on the stove or in the microwave.
- Add the butter, if using, to the chocolate and pour the heavy cream evenly on top. Let the warm cream and chocolate sit for 5 minutes minutes. Add the vanilla extract then stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface (to avoid condensation) and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Tip: Pour into a flat shallow dish, such as a 8-inch square baking pan, so the mixture evenly and quickly sets.
- Scoop the set truffle mixture into 2 teaspoon-sized mounds. This small cookie scoop is the perfect size. For larger truffles, 1 Tablespoon size mounds. Roll each into balls. This gets a little sticky, so see my tips above.
- Roll each into toppings, if desired. Truffles taste best at room temperature!
- Cover tightly and store truffles at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze up to 3 months with or without toppings. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature, if desired, before enjoying.
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare the truffle mixture through step 3. The mixture must chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or up to 3 days. If chilling for longer than 4ish hours, let the mixture sit on the counter for several minutes to soften into scoop-able consistency.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Small Cookie Scoop | 8-inch Square Pan (optional but helpful when chilling the chocolate mixture)
- Chocolate: Use quality chocolate, the kind sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. Do not use chocolate chips. The higher quality chocolate you purchase, the better your truffles will taste. I love Baker’s or Ghirardelli brands. If you want to splurge, Scharffen Berger is exceptional! Semi-sweet or dark chocolate make a very intense chocolate truffle and milk chocolate yields a sweeter truffle. If using milk chocolate, reduce the cream to 1/2 cup as milk chocolate is much softer than dark chocolate. Do not use white chocolate in this recipe because it’s too thin. Here is a white chocolate truffles recipe to use instead. You can leave out the lime flavoring.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is the only liquid that will melt the chocolate into the proper truffle consistency. Do not use half-and-half or milk. The only non-dairy substitute is canned full-fat coconut milk (not the refrigerated kind). Shake it up and use in the recipe as you would heavy cream.
- Butter and Vanilla Extract: Both are optional, but butter makes truffles extra creamy and vanilla extract adds wonderful flavor.
- Flavors: Instead of vanilla extract, use 1/2 teaspoon or 1 teaspoon (depending how strong of a flavor you want) raspberry, coconut, orange, peppermint, or strawberry extract. Or leave out the extract and add 1-2 Tablespoons of your favorite liqueur. I also have hazelnut truffles and key lime truffles recipes too!
- Halved/Doubled: Recipe can easily be halved, but I do not recommend doubling. Instead, make 2 separate batches.
Reader Comments and Reviews
First time making truffles. Simple, fun recipe. Sky is the limit for toppings!
The best I loved making them! and very delicious
I made two batches of these yesterday – one semi-sweet chocolate and one German chocolate. So simple and very delicious! I did have a strange problem, however. The German chocolate batch didn’t get firm at all. Even with extra chilling in little mounds, the chocolate was melting in my hands, and the truffles are soft and squishy. In contrast, the semi-sweet batch came out perfect! Would different chocolates react differently? Or more likely just something funny with how I made them? Any tips to firm up the squishy truffles? Thanks 🙂
Varying chocolates will change the texture of truffles, yes. Milk chocolate is much softer than dark/semi-sweet chocolate, so you’ll find them to be A LOT softer and more difficult to roll. If you decide to try the milk chocolate variety again, reduce the cream to 1/2 cup. Thank you so much for trying the truffles!
Hi Sally,
Thanks for the great recipe! I have tried making these twice now, and like another commenter, it tastes great, but mine just doesn’t seem to be getting firm enough. I try and roll the chocolate into balls, but it doesn’t keep the shape. The consistency is more like a mousse. And a delicious one!
Do you have any ideas why this might be happening? I am using baker’s milk chocolate. Should I try semi-sweet or dark chocolate? To the best of my knowledge I have followed all of your other instructions.
Thanks again!
Hi Allie! They milk chocolate may be too soft. Dark chocolate is always a little more firm. If you decide to try them again, prepare with a darker variety. I’m glad you enjoy their taste!
I made these today, they were so easy to do! My flavors were crushed coffee crystals and sea salt in cocoa powder, toasted almonds with sea salt, and red sugar crystals. Great recipe!!
I made these today and they were SO good! One thing I would like to comment on – I actually used Ghirardelli chocolate chips instead of Ghirardelli bar baking chocolate because it was cheaper and it has the EXACT same ingredients! I first read about this on the King Arthur Flour website but I wasn’t sure of it myself until I actually read the backs of both packages at the store! No kidding, they have the same ingredient list, right down to the punctuation. My understanding is that, yes, truly high end chocolate does not have the preservatives and extras such as soy lecithin, but almost all readily available American chocolate, be it chips or bars, does. So if all you have is chips, or you see that the chips are cheaper, I might suggest checking the backs of both packages. I had absolutely no trouble with the chips when I made these truffles. They are still delicious and creamy!
Made these today and they are delicious! I’m supposed to be sharing them….but I’m not sure I’ll have any to share!
I made these this morning! It’s an icy day here in the midwest. Perfect baking weather. I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate baking bars. Definitely used the butter, they turned out amazing. They melt in your mouth. I got creative and crushed up some pretzels to roll them in. I also rolled some in pb2 powder (who doesn’t love peanut butter AND chocolate). Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Just made a batch and it went great! Definitely messy, but that was just more fun for my helpers (kids, 2.5 and 7). Will definitely make a again and try mixing up the flavors!
Made these this month for your baking challenge and was really happy with the results! This is the first time I have ever made truffles and I’m looking forward to trying them with different extracts and toppings in the future. Thanks for the recipe!
Tried these today! The recipe was so easy! Directions were so clear and there are so many possibilities for them. Really want to temper chocolate to dip them in next 🙂
I loved experimenting with this! I added caramel extract, didnt add enough cause you could barely taste it.
Such an amazing experiment and cant wait to try more 🙂
Hey Sally! I noticed almond extract wasn’t one of the options you listed. Is that because it doesn’t really give them good flavor? I was thinking it might give them a subtle cherry flavor? Then again, I’m a new baker and I’m still trying to figure out why almond extract tastes like cherry to me! LOL
Hi Megan! You can definitely use almond extract. I’ve never personally tried it, so I didn’t add it as an option. Let me know how they turn out!
Just made these! Much simpler than I expected and they are delicious!
Hey there! So I made these with milk chocolate and they are delicious. But they will not hold their shape, they keep collapsing down. Any ideas on how to fix it? Thanks!
Hi Nicole! What do you mean they keep collapsing down? Is the mixture too sticky?
Is it possible to use unsweetened baking bars and add sugar? And if so, how much sugar would you recommend?
Hi Jill! I can always taste the sugar granules when using unsweetened chocolate + adding sugar to the mix. Unfortunately, I don’t have a successful solution for you but let me know if you test anything. I always have the best luck using semi-sweet chocolate.
Can I use white chocolate?
Hi Sylvia! See my recipe note.
These look delicious! I am wondering, can truffles be made in a mold? I have a very cute 12 heart cavity mold (silicone) that I would like to use. I am wondering, however, how I prevent the chocolate from sticking in the mold. Thanks Sally 🙂
Hi Pea! Dust the mold with cocoa powder if you’re nervous about sticking. 🙂
I made these this weekend, they were so delicious! I’m anxious to try many more flavor combinations. Have you ever tried adding red wine? Do you think it’s as easy as swapping out the 1-2 T of liqueur with wine?
Hi Maialen! It’s a little trickier than that. I actually have a red wine truffle recipe in Sally’s Candy Addiction if you have a copy!
I made these without butter or vanilla, and they still turned out delicious! I used my smallest cookie scoop to roll out even sized balls, and then rounded them out by rolling them in my hands. Once my hands warmed up the mix some, it was very easy to roll them in colorful sprinkles. Easy and delicious recipe! 🙂
These came out great! I refrigerated these overnight and then rolled them out the next day. I took Reese’s PB chips and pulsed them to a dust consistency and rolled some in PB! Yum!!!
I just made these and they were a hit!
Next time I will try some rum extract.
These were so delicious!! My family was obsessed. They were very sticky and I should have scooped them and chilled them and then rolled them! Nevertheless, they were awesome. Next time I will dip them in melted chocolate! YUM
Made these today! So lovely and creamy, set up really nicely and were easy to coat. I chilled the mix first then scooped roughly and chilled again before rolling, definitely makes it much easier to roll after some minutes in the freezer if you want to speed things up
I used pistacho, hazelnut , coconut and plain cocoa powder to coat mine
Definitely making these again
Thanks for another great and easy to follow recipe
Is there some way to mix caramel in with the chocolate? Thanks
Hi Linda! I haven’t tested it, but please let me know if you do. Yum!
How fragile are these truffles? Do you think they would hold up to shipping?
Yes, great for shipping. They’re nice and sturdy, depending on how you coat them. Toppings like sprinkles and crushed nuts may fall off a little.
These were super easy to make!! Baking has become my new hobbie and I just love making treats that look just as good as they taste!
Thank you!! These are delicious. Just put them on my Instagram 🙂
I’m also thinking about making these in tiny heart molds. If I cover them in chocolate after they set, will they retain their heart shape? I’ve never made chocolates before so I appreciate the advice. Thank you!
Hi Jenna! They should retain the heart shape if the chocolate coating is thin enough. The trick to a thin chocolate coating is to thin it out with oil. I recommend canola or vegetable oil, about 1-2 teaspoons.
About what temperature should the cream be?
Hi Holly! The boiling point of liquid is 212°F at sea level, so aim for a simmer around 195°F.
Hi Sally! I’m just curious if this recipe can be adapted for white chocolate? I saw your note that said white chocolate would make this recipe too thin, so I’m wondering how I can alter it. My hubby looooves white chocolate!
Hi Chelsea! My key lime pie truffles are white chocolate based and I have several white chocolate truffle recipes in Sally’s Candy Addiction! You really need to play around with the white chocolate to cream ratio. You can follow the key lime pie truffles recipe and leave out the lime flavoring. I would also leave out 1 Tbsp of butter, making it 1 Tbsp total. 🙂