Big Bend Eats
By Carolyn Brown Zniewski
afford chocolate.
After the conquest
of the Aztec by
Spain, Spanish fri-
ars returned home
and introduced
chocolate to the
King of Spain.
From there it
spread
across
Europe. The cler-
gy so loved the
drink that in
1662 the Pope
declared that even
when fasting one
could have cocoa.
Chocolate has not
lost its image as a
special food and
Photo courtesy Maya Brown
drink in the last
356 years. Even
SEVEN TRUFFLES FOR
today, we give it as a special gift to those
CHOCOLATE
we love. Here are some truffle recipes to
try. Make them with a friend or two,
he earliest archaeological evi-
have a truffle exchange, let the kids help
dence of chocolate or cacao is in
or stay up until midnight making and
4,000-year-old Mayan pottery,
sampling them, but enjoy.
though surely it was a crop for thou-
sands of years before that. The Mayans
ORIGINAL FRENCH TRUFFLES
made a beverage of chocolate, sweetened
2/3 cup cream (heavy)
with honey and flavored with vanilla, as
12 ounces chocolate chips (or any
a regular household drink. They used
bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
the soft, white flesh which surrounded
finely chopped)
the beans to make a fermented beverage.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
It was plentiful and often planted right
1/3 cup premium dark cocoa
outside their homes.
By the 1400s AD the Aztecs had con-
Heat cream to steaming over medium
quered most of Mesoamerica and the
low heat. Remove the cream from the
Mayan culture was in steep decline. The
heat.
Aztecs loved cacao but because the Aztec
Add the chocolate and vanilla. Stir
communities were in the mountains
until completely smooth. Chill the
where cacao trees did not grow, choco-
ganache about an hour until it is hard
late became a rare, costly and highly
enough to roll into balls. About a table-
desirable bean. In one legend,
spoon at a time, quickly roll the ganache
Quetzalcoatl gave the cacao beans to the
into a ball. Roll the ball in the cocoa
people as a gift and was therefore
powder. Store in an airtight container in
shunned by all the other gods.
a cool place.
Often Aztec rulers would demand
cacao beans as payment for rent or as
TROPICAL TRUFFLES
tribute. Only the upper class could
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
T
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 ounces ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons lime zest
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
Additional lime zest
Combine coconut, sugar, ricotta and
lime zest. Chill one hour or more. Shape
into 1-inch balls and roll in cocoa and
decorate with lime zest. Store in airtight
container in a cool place.
FRUIT AND NUT TRUFFLES
36 chocolate sandwich cookies
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup finely chopped dried
apricots
Powdered sugar or unsweetened
cocoa
Grind cookies into fine crumbs. Mix
cookie crumbs, cream cheese, vanilla,
nuts and apricots. Chill one hour or
more. Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in
either cocoa or powdered sugar. You can
use other nuts and dried fruits. Decorate
with a small slice of fruit. Store in air-
tight container in a cool place. You can
substitute golden sandwich cookies for
the friend allergic to chocolate.
CALIFORNIA TRUFFLES
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
8 ounces softened cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
Unsweetened cocoa
Melt semisweet chocolate over sim-
mering water. Remove from the heat.
Beat cream cheese, gradually adding
the powdered sugar until well com-
bined. Add melted chocolate, orange
juice and zest. Chill one hour until firm.
Shape into 1-inch balls and roll in
cocoa. Decorate with a small piece of
orange peel. Store in airtight container
in a cool place.
RUM OR BOURBON TRUFFLES
1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup rum or bourbon
In a large bowl, stir together the
crushed vanilla wafers, powdered sugar,
cocoa, and nuts. Blend in corn syrup
and rum. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll
in additional powdered sugar. Store in
an airtight container for several days to
develop the flavor. Roll again in confec-
tioners’ sugar before serving.
GINGER TRUFFLES
2 cups crushed ginger snaps
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup white wine or apple juice
Combine ginger snaps, cocoa and
powdered sugar. Add honey and wine.
Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in raw
sugar. Store in an airtight container.
RASPBERRY TRUFFLES
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened
condensed milk
3 Tablespoons raspberry jam
Assorted sprinkles
In a medium saucepan over medium-
low heat, combine the chocolate chips
and the sweetened condensed milk. Stir
until smooth and no chunks of choco-
late remain. Remove from heat and stir
in raspberry jam. (You may use any
flavor jam or marmalade you like.)
Refrigerate chocolate mixture until firm.
Shape into balls and then coat with
sprinkles to match jam flavor. Store in
airtight container in a cool place.
Cenizo
First Quarter 2019
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