Name: Coconut-Pecan Truffles
Total time: 325 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; .67 cup heavy whipping cream; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; .25 teaspoon vanilla extract; .5 teaspoon ground cinnamon; Pinch of kosher salt; 6 tablespoons unsweetened finely shredded coconut; 1.25 cups toasted pecans, finely chopped

Truffles might sound fancy, but they are super easy to make.

Joy Howard

Published on November 15, 2021

Coconut-Pecan Truffles — Photo: Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones

Active Time:

25 mins

Chill Time:

5 hrs

Total Time:

5 hrs 25 mins

Yield:

2 dozen

One of our favorite ways to impress a crowd over the holidays is with a batch of homemade truffles. If you've never made chocolate truffles from scratch, they might seem intimidating, but any novice baker can pull them off. It's as easy as melting and refrigerating chocolate. Yes, really. Our Coconut-Pecan Truffles are as simple as can be.

Thanks to a delicious combination of nuts, coconut, and chocolate, these two-bite confections have a flavor similar to a popular candy bar (that shall remain nameless). For the tastiest results, seek out the best-quality chocolate you can find—at least 60% cacao—and use unsweetened coconut that's shredded extra fine so it blends effortlessly into the ganache. Chilling the ganache makes these truffles much easier to work with; after assembling, be sure to store the truffles in the fridge. The final product is a bite of chocolate that simply melts in your mouth, with added texture from the coconut and slight crunch from the pecans.

These pecan truffles look gorgeous on a gold platter, but they're just as nice packaged up in cookie tins or delivered as edible holiday gifts. Package a few in cellophane bags tied with a ribbon and hand them out as party favors.

Ingredients

8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1 ¼ cups toasted pecans, finely chopped

Directions

Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium, stirring occasionally. (Do not let mixture boil.) Pour hot cream mixture over chopped chocolate, and let stand 1 minute; whisk until smooth and shiny. Add vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and coconut to chocolate mixture, and stir to combine, scraping down sides as necessary.
Tap bowl on work surface so chocolate mixture has a smooth top surface; cover and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
Place chopped toasted pecans in a small bowl. Scoop a heaping teaspoon of chocolate mixture, and use hands to quickly roll it into a ball. Gently roll in pecans to coat; place on a baking sheet or plate. Repeat with remaining chocolate mixture and pecans. Refrigerate about 1 hour. Store truffles in an airtight container in refrigerator.