Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Truffles
Did you know that you can buy sugar-free chocolate chips, and use them to make Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Truffles? Great base to customize!
Note: This recipe was first posted on my original blog, Celebration Generation, on December 23, 2009. It was transferred over to this blog - existing comments and all - on 9/27/2021
Recently, I saw some Sugar Free Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips* at Walmart, decided to mess around with them to come up with a basic sugar-free truffle recipe.
Each bag of those sugar-free chips is 8oz, with 15 servings per bag (but it makes like 20-22 truffles). Each of their servings have:
Total Carb - 9g
Sugars - 0g
Maltitol - 7 g
Final carb count on these truffles will depend a lot on what you roll them in, but here we go!
* Sugar Free Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips is the only brand I've experimented with. Chocolate is finicky, and due to formulation, I'd have to assume that sugar free chocolate is even more so.
Go ahead and try this with other brands of sugar free chocolate, but you may find that you need more or less cream. If your ganache doesn't firm up, you have a great chocolate sauce! If it's too firm, remelt it and add a little warm cream to it.
What is a Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Truffle?
Truffles consist of two main parts - the center (chocolate ganache), and the coating.
The ganache center is made from just a few very basic ingredients - Sugar Free Chocolate Chips, cream, flavoring, and butter. In the case of sugar free truffles, that ganache will be made with sugar free chocolate.
The coating can be made from almost anything - your creativity is pretty much your only limit!
Well, that and your desired carb count, anyway!
Typically, you’ll see store-bought truffles enrobed in chocolate.
Personally, I don’t bother - I find rolling truffles in various non-chocolate coatings is not only more fun and less work, I prefer the taste.
Luckily, there are several low or lowish carb options - keep reading for that info!
Making Sugar-Free Chocolate Ganache
Sugar-free chocolate ganache is quite easy to make, but there are a few basic principles to keep in mind:
1. Too much liquid will prevent your ganache from setting up enough to roll properly.
Fairly straightforward rule, right? If this happens, try adding extra chocolate... or use your runny ganache as a chocolate fondue or sauce for ice cream!
2. Not all chocolate varieties are created equally.
While this applies to flavor, texture, and overall quality, I’m actually talking about behavior.
Dark chocolate requires more liquid than milk chocolate, which requires more liquid than white chocolate.
Sugar-free chocolate requires a smaller amount of liquid than other varieties of chocolate...
Please be sure to follow the basic instructions for the variety of chocolate you are using, without swapping the type. (See rule #!)
3. Water is chocolate’s enemy.
Be very careful to use a dry bowl, dry utensils, and to not allow any water to fall into your chocolate.
Water causes melted chocolate to “seize”. Seizing is when melted chocolate comes in contact with even the tiniest amount of water, and becomes grainy, clumpy, and unpleasant.
For this reason, you should never use a lid when melting chocolate (condensation will occur, and drip in!), and you should always be careful when using a double boiler.
4. Fat amount is important.
The fat content in the chocolate ganache contributes to the smoothness, and the ganache’s ability to hold together.
Using milk instead of heavy cream really isn’t an option. Additionally, if a high percentage of the liquid is coming from a non-fatty source (liqueur, rather than cream), it’s a good idea to add extra butter.
5. Liquid added to chocolate must be warm.
Pretty basic rule - cold liquid added to melted chocolate will cause it to seize.
Warm liquid will not - this is why it’s important to heat up the cream mixture before adding it to the chocolate. Do not skip this step!
6. Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips are Just Fine to Use.
Yes, I’m sure the purists just had a heart attack over that phrase... deal with it!
Chocolate chips are a highly unusual medium for truffle making, consistently being eschewed for bars of pure chocolate.
The thing is, however, that not only are chocolate chips are easy to find, they lack the sticker shock that comes with the more traditional chocolate options.
I find that this makes chocolate chips a far more accessible option for those who are new to making truffles - especially with regard to sugar-free options.
For that reason, I believe chocolate chips are a great way to get into making truffles. I developed a series of recipes using chocolate chips!
Anyone can make these truffles at home, with common ingredients, for only about $5.00/20-30 truffles. Far less scary of a commitment than the traditional approach!
Flavouring Your Sugar-Free Ganache
You have a few options for flavouring your ganache:
Extract
You can use 1-2 teaspoon of flavour extract. Just add it to the cream after you remove it from heat, stir it in before adding the cream to the chocolate.
Flavour Oil
This stuff - Lorann Oil is the gold standard.
It’s a bit harder to come by, but can usually be found at your local cake or candy making supply store. It comes in a LOT more flavours than grocery store extracts do, so you can really have fun with it!
Note: Flavour oils are MUCH more concentrated than extracts. You’ll need a 2 teaspoon of extract in this recipe, but only a ½-1 teaspoon of flavour oil.
Liqueur
Swap 2 tablespoon liqueur in for the same amount of the heavy cream. I’ll usually measure the liqueur into the measuring up and top it up with heavy cream.
Heat it up before pouring into the chocolate.
Seasonings
You can add a bit of dried herbs or spices to the ganache, in one of two ways:
1. Steep larger items - cinnamon sticks, anise stars, fresh mint leaves, etc - in the cream.
Heat the cream up - I’ll usually use extra cream when steeping - with the items in it. Remove from heat and let it sit for 10-15 minutes, before straining out the additions.
Re-measure, and bring the cream back up to a simmer before adding it to the chocolate.
2. Adding dried herbs and spices: Season your cream directly with whatever herbs and spices you like.
Remember to go a bit strong on it, as you’ll be flavouring more than the cream - you’re flavouring the chocolate it will go into.
Cinnamon, dried lavender, dried rose petals, cayenne, smoked serrano, dried mint, etc are all options to consider.
Coffee Beans
Another option is to steep coffee beans in the cream when you heat it up – strain them out and re-measure the cream before stirring it into the chocolate chips -you may need to top it up a bit.
I’ll usually start with ½ cup of heavy cream, when doing this version.
“Stuff to Roll Them In”
Cocoa powder, unsweetened coconut flakes - toasted or not - finely chopped nuts all traditional options that are lower in carbs.. but feel free to go a bit crazy with it.
Just be sure that whatever you use is either powdered, or finely chopped, and keeps your carb count in mind.
A few ideas:
Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder can be used on its own as “stuff to roll them in” - plain or dutch processed cocoa, it doesn’t matter.
Alternately, you can enhance cocoa powder or powdered sugar with the addition of various spices - cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, even cayenne pepper... whatever you like.
Try using finely powdered dried citrus peels, or a little dried botanicals - rose petals, lavender, even matcha powder.
Experiment with amount of flavoring used in your cocoa powder, have fun with it!
Nuts
Finely chopped nuts are a fantastic coating for truffles!
Just whirl your favourite type in a food processor until they’re finely chopped. Alternately, you can use a nut flour for an easier - and usually finer - coating.
Cookies
Finely ground sugar-free cookies of any variety can add an interesting flavor and texture to your truffles.
Miscellaneous Stuff
More options to consider:
- Crushed coffee beans
- Finely chopped sugar chocolate
- Finely crushed sugar-free hard candies. Mint or hard caramels, especially!
As you can see, there are many, many options available for “stuff to roll your truffles in” - and yes, that’s a technical term. 🙂
Mix and match any of these ideas - or anything else you come up with - with the recipes and flavoring options for ganache centers... and the possibilities really are endless!
If you’re interested in truffle coatings in general - carb counts be damned - be sure to check out my Basic Dark Chocolate Truffles Recipe post for the full list of suggestions.
The ones I’ve listed in this post are just the ones I recommend for this particular recipe, and keeping sugar count low!
How to Make Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Truffles
1. Place sugar-free chocolate chips into a glass mixing bowl, and put aside.
2. In a small saucepan, combine heavy whipping cream and butter. Heat to a boil, remove from heat.
3. Pour hot cream mixture into bowl of chocolate chips. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.
4. Starting in the middle of the bowl, slowly start stirring the chocolate and cream until all of the chocolate is
melted and the cream has disappeared into it – it should be smooth.
5. Cover with plastic wrap, preferably resting right on top of the surface – this prevents a skin from forming while it cools.
6. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour or two, until it’s pretty solid.
7. Once solid, scoop out small amounts (a teaspoon or two), and roll them into balls. Try to handle the chocolate as quickly as possible, or it will melt.
8. Once all of the ganache is rolled into balls: wash and dry hands, then roll ganache centers in whichever coating(s) you’d like.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
More Low Carb Dessert Recipes
Looking to indulge your sweet tooth in a way that won’t spike your blood sugar? Here are some recipes to try!
Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keto Chewy Lemon Bars
Keto Raspberry Coconut Bars
Low Carb Bananas Foster Truffles
Keto Cheesecake
Keto Biscotti
Keto Ladyfingers
Gluten-Free Keto Rum Cake
Keto Tiramisu
Keto Cream Cheese Mints
Keto Chocolate Mousse
Low Carb Holiday Desserts
Keto Creme Brulee
Keto Carrot Cake
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @LowCarbHoser - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
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Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
With all of that said... on to that Basic Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Truffles recipe!
Sugar-Free Truffles
Ingredients
- 8 oz bag Hershey’s Sugar Free Chocolate Chips *
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Stuff to flavor them **
- Stuff to roll them in ***
Instructions
- Place chocolate chips into a glass mixing bowl, and put aside.
- On stovetop, bring heavy whipping cream and butter to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in liqueur or flavor extract(s).
- Pour hot cream mixture into bowl of chocolate chips. Let sit for 3-5 minutes.
- Starting in the middle of the bowl, slowly start stirring the chocolate and cream until all of the chocolate is melted the cream disappeared into it – it should be smooth.
- Cover with plastic wrap, preferably resting right on top of the surface – this prevents a skin from forming while it cools.
- Chill in the fridge for a few hours, until it’s pretty solid. (This MAY take overnight with the sugar free chocolate – After a couple hours, I was worried mine wasn’t going to set up. It did eventually!).
- Once solid, scoop out small balls (a teaspoon or so, and roll them into balls. Try to handle the chocolate as quickly as possible, or it will melt.
- Then, roll them in your choice of stuff, and eat them!
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