Hazelnut Mocha Truffles

I got this recipe from the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Cook’s Illustrated. They don’t like to give out recipes on their website, but this link is working, at least for now. I tried a half batch of the chocolate truffles and half a batch of the hazelnut. The ganache for the regular truffles was far too firm and even after sitting out at room temperature for over an hour still would crack instead of roll into balls. I’m not sure how I managed to mess it up since I made them side-by-side with the hazelnut and they were perfect. And delicious I might add. If you are familiar with Cook’s, you’ll know that even when they say they’ve simplified a recipe it will still have more ingredients and steps than would ordinarily be necessary, but they usually have a good reason. These weren’t hard to make, but were a little futzy for a candy that is usually just chocolate and cream. I did skimp on the liqueur, and bought a cheap bottle of hazelnut schnapps instead of the name brand Frangelico.  I did not skimp on chocolate and went with the Ghirardelli, which was well worth it.