French Chocolates

Impress your loved ones with French Chocolates for Valentine's Day.  Easily made in the microwave, these chocolates rival high-end chocolates you can buy at a fraction of the cost. ♥

French Chocolates

1 (12 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup ground pecans or walnuts

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

Coating:  coconut, chopped nuts, and/or powdered sugar  

Place chocolate chips in a medium bowl.  Microwave at MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) until melted, 2-4 minutes*, stirring twice.  Stir in the ground pecans or walnuts, condensed milk, vanilla, and salt.  Cool 5 minutes.  Shape into 1-inch balls.  Dip into desired coating(s).  Place on a greased baking sheet and refrigerate until set.  Store covered at room temperature.

* I have a new microwave (1000 watts), and it takes 3 minutes.

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These chocolates can be made in advance and frozen until needed.  

Grinding Nuts 101:  To finely grind the pecans or walnuts used in this recipe, measure 1 1/2 cups of the nuts into your food processor.  Depending on how finely your food processor grinds the nuts, you may need more or less:

 

Pulse for 1-2 seconds at a time checking the texture of the nuts after each pulse.  Pulsing in very brief bursts allows the nuts to fall back down into the container providing for even grinding.  This is the texture you want your nuts to be:

Presentation Idea:  Wal-Mart carries mini baking cups in the Valentine's Day decorations aisle that are perfect for holding these chocolates: