Truffles

I'm presently kickin' around on the west coast taking in the warm sunshine, running errands and today I made truffles. Having pored over my latest issue of FOOD, I decided to try making chocolate truffles namely because they are scant in ingredients and don't require much equipment. It's an understatement to say plasticmom's home is not equipped for baking. The truffles turned out great and weren't as difficult as I was anticipating. Here goes...

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips...chopped up a bit finer
1/2 cup heavy cream (4 oz. or half a 1/2 pint) I'm not familiar with all the grades of dairy products so I used "heavy whipping cream" which seemed to work.
Assorted Coatings: I used crushed candy canes and chopped up cashews. Other ideas from FOOD include coconut, other nuts and cocoa powder.

1. Chop up chocolate chips a bit finer and place in a medium heat resistant bowl.
2. Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan...this doesn't take long so keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over and cause a raucous.
3. Pour boiling cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes.
4. Whisk chocolate mixture until smooth. (I used one of those hand held upright blenders because I couldn't find a whisk in plasticmom's kitchen.)
5. Refrigerate (uncovered) until somewhat firm (about 1 hour)
6. Spoon mounds of chocolate mixture onto a plate lined with wax paper/saran wrap/etc.
7. If the mounds are not too soft that they melt in your hands, start rolling mounds into balls and coat them with various candy/nut/etc. coatings. If too soft, return to fridge for 15 min to firm up.
9. Return to fridge to firm up...around 30 min.

Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge

TIP: I found that if the surface of the chocolate balls were cold, the coating wouldn't adhere properly. I rolled the chocolate balls a few more times in my hands to warm them up so the candy/nuts would stick.