wendy's brownies

Generally, I am a homemade, start from scratch, baked goods person. Especially when it comes to pies and cookies, nothing comes close. Brownies were a different story. I never could find a good recipe and preferred pre-made mixes that seemed richer and more moist. But last year, my sister-in-law Mallory challenged my boxed brownies with her favorite recipe. It is perfect, convenient ingredients and yummy. Again, I was hooked on homemade.

So back in November, I went to my friend's baby shower where I tried a ridiculous, basically melt-in-your-mouth, velvety brownie. Once you look at this recipe, it's easy to see why. It's basically chocolate mixed with chocolate. I still love Mallory's recipe, but if I have the ingredients, I will definitely bust out this recipe.

truffle love

When my brother Curt married my sister-in-law Julie, they bought loads of Trader Joe's french truffles for their favors. My family fell in love with the chocolate goodness. Every year at Christmas, my mom buys those truffles for us. There is nothing like the sweet taste of a truffle melting in your mouth.

Well, my coworker made homemade truffles on Valentine's Day. I'm scared to say this because of my family's love for those Trader Joe's french truffles, but her truffles might maybe be a little slightly better and awesome. Mouth melting overwhelming your taste buds and mind with sweetness and happiness, scenes of chocolate fountains from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory flickering through your brain, insanely good truffles.

I made her write down the recipe before leaving and made a batch as soon as I came home. I packaged the sweet things as Valentine's present to my neighbors. They made me feel pretty good. You must try them. I used a double broiler, but my coworker did everything in the microwave. Easy to make, but requires patience (a lot of refrigeration). Completely and absolutely worth it.

Chocolate Truffles
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
10 ounces Baker's semisweet chocolate, grated or chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
3 tablespoons Cognac (borrowed can't remember the brand of brandy from my neighbor since we didn't have any)

Mix heavy cream, sugar, and butter until melted (via double broiler on stove or glass bowl in microwave). Add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth mixture. Add Cognac (or whatever brandy you have) and stir until smooth. Transfer to metal bowl and refrigerate for one hour.

Lightly butter 8x8 pan and place parchment paper in bottom. Pour chocolate mixture into prepared pan until even. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until firm enough to cut (I suggest refrigerating knife to make it easier to cut). Cut into 3/4-1 inch squares. Makes approximately 49 pieces.

Optional: Mix 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon confectionery sugar until well blended. Drop squares into powder mixture and place in small cupcake style papers. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Happy truffles, friend.

Happy Valentine's, loves! Oh, today was good. I spent the day cooking these yummy chocolate souffles with mint cream from smitten kitchen for my valentines, napping in my white bed, and crying just a little bit when the first Canadian won gold on their soil (I'm American, but such a sucker for things like that). Remember, you are loved.