Easy Creamy Truffles

I had about 8 pounds of a 10 pound bar of chocolate left over - what? I have reasons. Chocolate. Anyway, I needed to use it up, and I had a friend who made some truffles, so I thought that would be a good project -- try to find a recipe that was like Lindor Truffles - cause they are expensive!

I found a good truffle recipe on AllRecipes and just tweaked it a bit for my tastes. I really didn't need to do much to it - just added cream and cocoa powder to make them chocolatier and creamier.

And they are YUMMY! In fact, my husband said he preferred them to Lindor truffles! That's quite a compliment, because he would eat a whole bag of Lindors.

• 8oz package cream cheese (any variety, low fat is ok)
• 3 cups chocolate (semi-sweet chips, milk chocolate, white chocolate, even almond bark will work)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3-1/2 cup cocoa powder (if you're making white chocolate truffles, omit this)
• 1/4-1/2 cup cream (heavy, whipping, or even half-n-half; could try a coffee creamer substitute)
• 1-2 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring)

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. Be careful to not cook the chocolate. Keep the heat on low so that the chocolate just melts.

Soften the cream cheese until smooth. I used an electric hand mixer.
Add the sugar, cocoa, cream and vanilla. Add the lowest amount and add more if necessary for texture and taste.
Mix until smooth and there are no streaks. The mix should pull away from the beaters fairly easily. If it is binding up the beaters, add more cream. If it is too runny, add more cocoa powder.

Add the melted chocolate using a rubber spatula (the mix will get a bit too thick for beaters)
Mix until smooth and there are no streaks. The mix should resemble a very soft, sticky cookie dough. If it is too dry/thick, add more cream and mix in well.

Let the mix rest in a cool place for an hour in the refrigerator or two hours in a cool room. It sets up faster if you flatten it out a bit.

Scoop out and roll into balls. You can use your hands or a melon baller coated with coconut oil.

If coating with chopped nuts, coconut, baking cocoa, or other toppings, roll in the topping immediately after rolling into a ball.
You can coat these in melted almond bark to get a nice, slightly crunchy outer coating that will hold toppings easier. Roll in the toppings immediately after dipping the truffle in the almond bark.

Let these set up on waxed paper. They will set up fairly quickly at room temperature.
Makes about 30 bite-sized truffles

**You can convert this recipe to fudge by substituting the cream and most of the sugar with a can of sweetened condensed milk. Mix the chopped nuts into the mix while it is soft and press the mix into a 9x13 pan coated with coconut oil.**