Chocolate Truffles

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 Tb Grand Marnier (or other liqueur such as Kahlua, Creme de Menthe, Amaretto)

6 oz semi-sweet or bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, broken up

4 Tb sweet butter, softened

powdered un-sweetened cocoa, ground nuts or powdered sugar (or combination) to roll truffles in. Maybe even a little chili or cinnamon or both for a Mayan flavor.

Boil cream in a small heavy saucepan until reduced to 2 Tbs. Remove from heat. Stir in Grand Marnier and chocolate and return to low heat. Stir until chocolate melts. Whisk in softened butter. When mixture is smooth, pour into shallow bowl and refrigerate until firm, about 40 minutes (I hasten the process by putting metal bowl in freezer and taking out and stirring every 5 minutes or so, scraping hardened chocolate from sides). Scoop chocolate up with a teaspoon and shape into rough 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in cocoa (or other coatings). Store truffles, covered in the refrigerator. (Although I've also shipped them to my mother at the holidays and they fared just fine on the trip out of the fridge as long as it doesn't get hot enough to melt them.) Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Makes about 24 truffles.