Dark Chocolate Bourbon Bonbons Recipes

DARK CHOCOLATE BOURBON BALLS

Steps:

• Combine 1 cup pecans and bourbon; let stand, covered, for 8 hours or overnight., Cream butter and confectioners' sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until crumbly; stir in pecan mixture. Refrigerate, covered, until firm enough to shape, about 45 minutes. Shape into 1-in. balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour., Dip in chocolate coating; allow excess to drip off. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Let stand until set.

BOURBON DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over low heat until simmering.
• Add the dark chocolate to a heatproof bowl and pour the cream over the chocolate.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Stir in the bourbon.
• Transfer the chocolate to the refrigerator to cool for 1 hour or until firm.
• Using a small melon-baller, form into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
• Return the chocolate to the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
• Melt the semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.
• Dip each truffle in the melted chocolate and allow the excess to drip off.
• Return the truffles to the baking sheet and decorate with pecans, if desired.
• Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and allow to chill until hardened.
• Store the truffles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

CHOCOLATE-BOURBON TRUFFLES

Steps:

• Set a stainless steel mixing bowl over a pan of boiling water to make a double boiler. Put chocolate, cream and salt in bowl and heat until chocolate is completely melted, about 15 minutes.
• Add vanilla and bourbon and whisk thoroughly, until mixture is smooth and shiny. Pour into a pie plate or baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Use a melon baller or soup spoon to make rough 1/2-ounce spheres. Roll between cocoa-dusted palms, then in crushed nuts. Refrigerate, but don't serve them ice cold; remove from the refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.

BOOZY CARAMEL BONBONS RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom, combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup and stir. Wash down the sides with a pastry brush dipped in clean water, then place over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes, at which point the mixture will begin to darken. Swirl the pot to even out the caramelization, and allow the caramel to turn deep amber. Then, stand back and slowly add the cream (the mixture will sputter, rise in the pot, and spit; be very careful) and turn off the heat. Once it is safe, whisk in the heavy cream, until smooth. Whisk in the butter until it melts completely. Whisk in the vanilla seeds, booze, and salt and allow the mixture to cool completely.
• Chop the chocolate into very small pieces and divide the chocolate evenly into one very large bowl and one small bowl (the large bowl is the bowl that you will melt the chocolate in, the small one contains the "seed" chocolate for tempering). Set a pot of water to boil on the stove. When the water is boiling, turn off the heat and place the large bowl of chocolate over the water. Temper the chocolate (for a full tutorial, click here ) by stirring to bring to chocolate to 115°F. Then, begin adding the reserved chocolate a little at a time and vigorously stirring the mixture, without stopping. Continue to add the reserved seed chocolate and agitating until the chocolate comes down to 90°F. The chocolate is now tempered. Check to be sure that there are no solid pieces of chocolate left in the bowl.
• Wave the mold over a flame on the stove or place it in a warm oven for just a moment to warm it up slightly (this will help the chocolate flow over it, rather than seizing up immediately when it hits the mold, which prevents air bubbles from forming). Then pour the chocolate into each of the cavities in the mold. Allow it to stand for 10 seconds, then invert the mold over the bowl, allowing the excess chocolate to run off. Tap the mold to shake out additional excess, then turn the mold back over. With a flexible metal scraper, scrape over the top, cleaning off any excess chocolate on the sides. Place the mold in the fridge for 2-3 minutes, then remove.
• Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt into each of the shells. Using a piping bag fitted with a small tip or a cone of parchment, pipe the cooled caramel into the shells, stopping a 3-4 millimeters below the edge (it's very important to leave room, otherwise the chocolates will not seal). Ensure that the chocolate is still tempered (if it is not, you will need to bring it back to 115°F once again, then down to 90°F, otherwise, your bonbons will be streaky on the bottom). Pipe or pour chocolate over the tops of each bonbon. Scrape the top clean to create a seal, then place the mold in the fridge for 2-3 minutes and remove. Twist the mold to release the chocolates, then turn it upside down and tap them out of the mold. Clear the work surface of bonbons, and pound the mold against the counter to release any stragglers. Store the chocolates in a cool, dry place.

DARK CHOCOLATE & BOURBON BONBONS

Steps:

• Line a 9X9 baking tray with parchment. Chop chocolate and place in a large glass bowl. On the stove simmer heavy cream, bourbon, vanilla and salt. Just before it boils remove from heat and pour a quarter into the chopped chocolate. Allow to rest 2 minutes and mix a little. Slowly add the remainder of the cream and whisk. (Adding all the cream at once would cause the fat to separate from the chocolate which is not what you want.
• Mix thoroughly until creamy and pour into your parchment lined dish. Chill at least two hours or overnight before removing.
• Once set you can remove and cut into your desired shapes. I melted down various chocolates and using a dessert fork with a missing center tine, dipped each bonbon in a bath of chocolate before doing fine decorating using melted chocolate in a parchment bag.

SINLESS DARK CHOCOLATE BOURBON TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. Coat bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
• Microwave chocolate morsels in a small microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) for 1 minute or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals.
• Beat butter and 1/2 cup granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add vanilla and egg; beat 1 minute. Add milk and, if desired, bourbon; beat 1 minute. (Mixture will look curdled.) Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended. Gradually add cocoa and flour, beating at low speed just until blended.
• Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Add remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Fold one-fourth of egg white mixture into batter; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
• Bake at 300° for 45 minutes or until set. (A wooden pick inserted in center will come out with just a few crumbs on it.) Remove torte from oven; immediately run tip of a small knife around edge of torte. Let cool on wire rack 30 minutes. (Torte will rise to top of pan while baking but will sink while it cools.) Remove sides of springform pan.
• Spoon whipped topping into a zip-top plastic freezer bag. (Do not seal.) Snip 1 corner of bag to make a small hole. Pipe dollops of whipped topping around base of torte. Sprinkle torte with powdered sugar and cocoa.
• Note: For testing purposes only, we used Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips.

BONBONS

Steps:

• In large bowl, combine margarine, confectioners' sugar, condensed milk, coconut, chopped walnuts and vanilla. Stir well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until mixture has thickened enough to roll into balls. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place close together, but not touching, on cookie sheets. Freeze until hard.
• While bonbons are freezing, line a cookie sheet or flat surface with waxed paper. Combine chocolate chips and shortening in the top of a double boiler, over, not in, simmering water. Stir until melted. Using a toothpick or a fork, dip each bonbon in the melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper to dry. When chocolate has hardened, store bonbons in plastic bag in the freezer.

CHOCOLATE CREAM BONBONS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, pecans, milk and butter. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Cover and refrigerate overnight., In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip balls in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on waxed paper; let stand until set. (If balls are too soft to dip, freezer until firm, 3-5 minutes.)