Valentine's Day Truffles

Valentine's Week is almost over, but I saved the yummiest post for today!  Number 38 on my 101 Things in 2014 list was to make and sell truffles for Valentine's Day.  After making several different kinds for our Christmas parties with the help of my sister, I also took several photographs for 'publicity'.  I loaded them into a Facebook album and re-shared the album every once in a while.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Coconut Truffles

Dark Chocolate Truffles - available with cocoa dusting, rolled in almonds, or dipped in chocolate

White-Chocolate Lemon Truffles

Chocolate-Covered Fruit Creams - available in lemon, orange, strawberry, and peppermint

I only ended up selling 5 boxes, and while it would have been nice to sell more, I'm also okay with that number.  For this project, I ordered 100 1# candy boxes from Nashville Wraps (very pleased with their service, by the way, and I couldn't find a better price anywhere else), and I also, of course, had to purchase ingredients.  The price of the 5 boxes I sold just covered all my expenses, so while I didn't make any money, I didn't lose any money, either.  Plus, I still have all the extra boxes, so if I do this again next year, I won't have to factor in that very large cost, and can start making a profit more quickly.

My most popular flavor was the Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough Truffles.  I piped the chocolate drizzle on top using a little zip-lock bag with a tiny hole cut in the corner.  They turned out so gorgeous!

Two of my orders were for a full box of just cookie dough truffles.

Some people ordered a variety box, which was so much fun to put together, and looked so pretty!

Isn't that colored chocolate fun?  For Christmas, I received a set of Wilton's candy colors and was so excited to try them.  You can't use regular food coloring in chocolate, because regular food coloring is water-based.  I got to practice with the red, yellow, and green (combination of yellow and blue, actually) for the strawberry, lemon, and peppermint fruit creams.  

I bought this red organza ribbon from Hobby Lobby, which is so pretty, but I also love the heart ribbon I found there:

All in all, I consider it a success.  Nothing bad came of it since I didn't lose money, but all these good things happened:

- I got to use my new candy colors.

- I got experience in halving and quartering certain recipes that weren't as popular.

- I got experience in packing candy boxes and tying cute bows.

- I made 5 people very happy!

- I had some extras and was able to pack 2 boxes to give away, so I made another 2 people very happy!

- We still have some leftover coconut truffles, so that's another 2 very happy people! :)

Love and Chocolate,

Leah Joy