Red Velvet Truffles

Because I didn't get frustrated enough making the Oreo Truffles, I decided to torture myself once again and dip more balls into chocolate. This time I around I changed things up a bit. Gone was the chocolate bark, enter in semi-sweet chocolate and a bit of shortening. What a difference! Smooth and silky chocolate that didn't seize up on me.

Again, this is a Bakerella recipe. If you haven't checked out her site, just stop right now and click on that link and go see her stuff and then come back here and look at my pathetic attempt to make my truffles look edible. She is amazing.

So I tweaked the recipe a bit and after I washed off my henna red hands, I had about 45 cake balls ready to go into the freezer. I topped mine with some toasted coconut, sugar crystals and left some plain chocolate. I didn't get nearly as frustrated as I did with the Oreo truffles, but I won't be signing up for chocolate dipping 101 anytime soon.

Red Velvet Cake Balls
1 box red velvet cake mix (plus ingredients to make the cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting
Semi-Sweet chocolate chips
vegetable shortening
wax paper

Bake the cake according to the package directions for a 9x13 cake. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use your fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)

Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay them on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)

Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.) I froze mine for 2 hours and worked in small batches, keeping them cold until just until they are ready to be dipped.

Melt chocolate chips (I used about a cup and a half for each batch) in the microwave with a good tablespoon of vegetable shortening. Roll the balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

John and I haven't had a weekend to ourselves in over 2 months now. How will we be spending Valentines Day this year? Re-arranging the garage! How romantic! We have an extra fridge that we want to keep out there for those times when my kitchen fridge overflowith. Besides, I'm lucky enough to be married to someone who shows me how much he loves me every single day of the year, so we don't need a special day to proclaim that. We'll have a nice dinner at home and then curl up on the couch and watch a silly movie. Hope all you lovebirds out there enjoy your day.