Easy Truffles

step 1Supplies
The ingredients Martha suggests are as follows: 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom Five strips 1-inch-wide orange peel, pith removed 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup sifted cocoa powder 1/2 cup finely chopped assorted nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, and pista…

step 2Cardamom!
Of course you can buy ground cardamom.  But if you're like me, someone will convince you that pods will be far more rewarding.  So if you've got yourself some pods, read on.  If yours is already ground, then, well, I think you should read on anyway, but it's really up to you. This is what I learned about cardamom. It grinds up really well in a coffee grinder.  But yo…

step 3Orange Step
Again, this step is fun, but adds more precious minutes to what could otherwise be a super-quick recipe.  But if you're the type that has oranges around, get ready to dig into one, cause you're about to make it naked. Peel off four or five good strips of rind.  Of course, you want to avoid the white flesh underneath, as that's the part that makes it bitter. If you don…

step 4Combine Liquids
Now put your heavy whipping cream (or condensed milk) into a saucepan.  Whisk it together with your freshly ground podless cardamom and your lovely orange peels.  Or throw in a dash of your favorite spice and a splash of oj.  You know, whatever's easiest. Bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat for 15 minutes.  While you're waiting, get the next step ready!

step 5Combine with Chocolate
Put your chocolate chips in a bowl and place a mesh sieve over them.  Or some cheesecloth, or a regular strainer / colander deal.  Pretty much, you just want to make sure you catch all the rogue bits of cardamom and orange peel.  If you substituted out those ingredients, you can skip the sieve altogether. Once you've waited the 15 requisite minutes, Martha tells us to …

step 6Stir Stir Stir!!!!
Stir the hot cream into the chocolate chips with vigor!  Your goal is a nice, creamy, shiny, smooth chocolatey blend.  Hopefully you won't have to stop in the process to take pictures, which might result in a slightly lumpy, less-than-perfectly-melted outcome.  Delicious nonetheless. Pour your mixture immediately into a pan to cool. In fact, let's put that pan in the …

step 7Prepare Toppings
While your tasty centers are firming up in the freezer, let's get their delicious dressings ready to go.  I chose pecans (because I had them in the fridge), confectioner's sugar (because I suspected that would be my favorite), unsweetened cocoa (because that's pretty traditional), and pistachios (because I thought the green color would be cool.  It was.) Get that gri…

step 8Rollin' rollin' rollin'. . .
Now is the moment of glory you've been waiting for. Remove the pan from the freezer when the chocolate is firm but malleable.  Use a spoon to scrape chocolate into a ball, about 1" is good, but I won't judge you if you like them bigger.  It's a lot of chocolate to take in all at once though, so use your best judgment.  I had to coax my spoonfuls of chocolate into lit…