Super Bowl Sunday is approaching! A football theme is typical for a Super Bowl party, but why not make it more decadent with gluten free truffles shaped similar to or exactly like footballs? For coating your truffles, you should use a good quality chocolate versus chocolate morsels or chips, as chips contain ingredients to help them keep their shape, and do melt well for this task. If your budget does not allow for this, and you decide to use melting chips, ensure that they are gluten free. Read additional gluten free product and truffle making tips below. Have fun, and enjoy the game! (Find 25 other gluten free football recipes (click here).
Coloring white chocolate or candy making flavored chocolate can be fun, and creative. Perhaps dip half in dark or milk chocolate and the other half in colored white chocolate to match the team colors you’re routing for, such as the 49’ers red and gold.
If do decide to color white chocolate, note that Ghirardelli makes a candy making white chocolate flavored bar. Both the white and double chocolate flavored bars are made in a gluten free facility and on gluten free lines. Their real white chocolate baking bar is gluten free, however is not made on gluten free lines, or in a gluten free facility. Though chocolate chips should never be used for coating truffles, note that Ghirardelli white chocolate chips are not made in a gluten free facility, but on clean lines. They clean the manufacturing lines well prior to making any of their gluten free products.
Never use liquid food coloring in chocolate, but either purchase gluten free colored candy making melts or use food coloring paste or powder in real white chocolate.
When decorating, note that Wilton’s icing decorating tubes and decorations are gluten free, per their blog post, No Gluten No Problem.
You may also add nuts to the truffle mixture, if desired.
Football shaped and decorated gluten free chocolate truffles, perfect for your Superbowl celebration!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 6 cups gluten-free milk, dark, bittersweet or white chocolate, chopped or morsels (Nestle's and Ghirardeli morsels/chips are gluten free)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 lb. chocolate of your choosing, chopped
- 2/5 of Ghirardelli White Chocolate Flavored Candy Making and Dipping Bar (2 1/2 lbs. bar)
- Gluten free food coloring gel (not liquid), for coloring white chocolate; or gluten free colored candy melts
Instructions:
- Add cream to a small sauce pan; once hot, but not yet boiling.
- Add the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a simmering pan of water; pour vanilla on top; stir; add the hot cream to chocolate; allow to sit for 2 minutes; place bowl on top of burner on low; stir until all chocolate has melted, about 5 minutes. If using flavored chocolate made for making candy or real chocolate, versus morsels, you will find it melts faster, and may not need to be returned to the burner.
- Set aside to cool, about 15 minutes; refrigerate until it solidifies a bit, thick enough to form into a shape, 35 - 45 minutes. Start checking after 30 minutes. Do not want to allow it to harden completely. If it becomes too hard, leave it out at until it softens; stir.
- Once firm, scoop some chocolate from the bowl and shape into the desire shapes and sizes. Refrigerate the shapes for at least 10 minutes.
- In a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water or in a double boiler, add 2/3 pound chopped chocolate. For a shiny coating, heat to 115°F for dark chocolate, 110°F for milk or white chocolate, otherwise just melted; remove from heat; add remaining chocolate; stir to melt; once the chocolate reaches 83°F remove any unmelted chocolate.
- Now for the tricky part, in 5 - 10 second increments place the chocolate back on a warm burner and stir; do this until it reaches 88-89°F for dark, or 87°F for milk and white chocolate. Immediately remove from heat. Do not allow it to reach over 91°F. If you desire to color white chocolate, add the food coloring at this time, a little bit at a time; stir; add more, if necessary, to reach your desired color. Your chocolate is now tempered (shiny). To test if you were successful, spread a bit on some parchment paper. If it dries with a shine you were successful.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; remove the truffles from the refrigerator; place one at a time on the end of a fork; dip into the melted chocolate; allow excess chocolate from the truffle to drip back into the pan; place one edge of the chocolate onto the parchment paper lined baking pan and slowly remove the fork. Continue until all truffles are coated; refrigerate until firm.
Tips
If your hands tend to be warm, run them under cold water prior to shaping the truffles, or wear clean, thin rubber gloves and dip your hands in ice water. This prevents the chocolate from melting and sticking to your hands.
If cutting this recipe in half and using a real chocolate coating, still use 1 lb. of chocolate for dipping, as using less does not work well.
Allergens vary depending upon the chocolate and whipping cream you use.