french cognac & parmesan chocolate truffles

The thought of making chocolate truffles at home sounds complicated, but really, they are simple and use only a handful of ingredients. Also, people are always so impressed when they learn that you made chocolate truffles yourself, which is why they are such a luxurious treat, any time of the year!

I’ve been making chocolate truffles for almost 20 years. In fact, when my first cookbook was released in 2012, I included a recipe for Honey Lavender Milk Chocolate Truffles. I started serving them during my book signings, and made each and every truffle myself. I would either make the ganache in my hotel room the night before, drive with the ganache in a cooler, or even fly with ganache in my carry on—crazy, right? If I had to guess, since that recipe was released, I’ve probably hand-rolled 20,000 truffles over the years. That is how easy homemade chocolate truffles are to make!

For my French Cognac & Parmesan Chocolate Truffles, I wanted to infuse milk & dark chocolate with Cognac while also adding other flavors that are classically associated with my favorite after-dinner sipper. Cognac has a specific complex flavor and is quite layered. Flavors like parmesan cheese, honey, vanilla, caramel, and spices are all characteristics of Cognac, so I took my cue from those notes and added them to the truffles to really bring out the Cognac and add as many layers of flavor as possible. You can’t really tell the cheese is there, but it really deepens the flavor and sharpens everything else. It is an unusual ingredient in chocolate truffles, but trust me, it is so worth it! In fact, I even love to serve parmesan shards alongside the truffles (in a little silver bowl, of course!).

This recipe debuted during the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival in Newport, RI in the ballroom of Rosecliff during the 16th annual Vintner’s Dinner. I was asked to design the entire menu for that evening, and these truffles were part of the dessert offering that I paired with Delamain Cognac—people went crazy for them. Try them for yourself, and I guarantee you will love them, too!

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french cognac & parmesan chocolate truffles

Ingredients

get cookin’ with kittch