These salted caramel chocolate truffles are built to solve one problem: fancy, gift-box-worthy chocolates without a candy thermometer, tempering, or a trip to a specialty store. Four ingredients, twenty minutes of hands-on work, and the fridge does the rest.
And with two Oreo halves and a pair of candy eyes, the exact same batch turns into Halloween bats in under a minute. Have fun!
Jump to:
- Salted Caramel and Chocolate
- What You Need for Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
- How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
- Why the Ganache Can Turn Grainy or Oily
- Halloween Variation: Turn Them Into Chocolate Bats
- How to Store Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
- Frequently Asked Question
- 📖 Recipe
- 3 x Halloween
Chocolate is the one ingredient I never say no to, it shows up in more of my baking than I'd probably admit if you added it up.
These truffles are one of the recipes I keep coming back to whenever I need something for a dinner party or a last-minute gift: no candy thermometer, no fussing over temperature, just a bowl, a saucepan, and a fridge doing the patient part for you.
I'd rather hand someone a small box of these than fight traffic for a store-bought version that costs three times as much and tastes half as good.
Readers keep coming back to these. One commenter, Kayla, put it simply: "What a fun treat! I loved the flavor of the salted caramel. So tempted to make these all the time now!" The recipe currently holds a 5-star rating from 21 votes.
Want a different flavor for your Halloween bats? These coconut truffles with chocolate or chocolate-orange truffles work just as well.
Salted Caramel and Chocolate
Not only have the well-known chocolate brands discovered the combination of salted caramel and chocolate, but I also love it (but anyway, I love chocolate and caramel separately, so a combination can only be great).
To keep it nice and simple, I started this recipe with caramel (dulce de leche) that you buy in the store and spread on your sandwich. Then you melt it with the butter in a saucepan and mix it with the chocolate and salt. After good cooling, make small balls that you roll through pure cocoa for an extra chocolate bite. All in all, 20 minutes of work, and you're done.
These are called truffles because they resemble truffle mushrooms: round, with a lighter interior under a dark, textured layer. Technically, you call any ganache filling coated in cocoa, chopped nuts, or grated coconut a "chocolate truffle," whether it's shaped round, as a cone, or a half circle. This recipe uses a caramel and sea salt ganache, but the same base works with a Malibu-coconut filling or an orange filling too.
What You Need for Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
To prepare these Salted Caramel Truffles, you need the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
- Caramel - If you want to make it easy on yourself, you can buy a jar of caramel paste or ready-made Dulce de Leche. But you can easily make this caramel paste yourself (recipe for dulce de leche in 6 ways). TIP - When you make dulce de leche yourself, make it a day in advance and let it cool down to room temperature.
- Butter - Makes the chocolate truffles creamier. Use unsalted butter.
- Sea salt - If you have it at home, Fleur de Sel is the best. That is slightly less salty and releases its flavor more slowly than other sea salt types. But coarse sea salt is also possible.
- Chocolate - Use dark chocolate with more than 70% cocoa for these truffles. This way, you get a full chocolate taste.
- Cocoa - To cover the truffle on the outside. It gives an extra chocolate boost. Use unsweetened cocoa.
- Sugar eyes - Edible; you can get it at (online) cooking stores. Optional, you only need this if you are making the Halloween decoration.
- Oreo cookies - Optional. Only needed when you make the Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles in Halloween style. The original Oreo cookies are used here.
How to Make Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
- Heat the caramel and butter in a saucepan until the butter has melted. Mix everything well and heat further until it is hot.
- Add the chocolate and sea salt to the caramel butter sauce. Stir well until the chocolate has melted and you get a smooth sauce.
- Spread it in a thin layer on a plate and pull a plastic foil over it. Let it set in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- After setting, scrape together some ganache with a teaspoon. Roll it between your palms into a ball. Then roll it through the cocoa and place it on a plate. Repeat until all the ganache has been used up.
Why the Ganache Can Turn Grainy or Oily
If your truffle mixture looks split or oily instead of smooth, it usually comes down to temperature or overmixing. Chocolate ganache is an emulsion, tiny fat droplets from the chocolate and butter suspended in the caramel. Stir too hard or let the mixture get too hot, and that emulsion breaks, releasing the fat separately from the rest. Stir gently, just until combined, and let the caramel cool slightly before adding it to the chocolate, that's usually enough to keep it smooth.
Halloween Variation: Turn Them Into Chocolate Bats
Want to dress these up for Halloween? Cut the Oreo cookies in half with a sharp knife. Place a chocolate truffle in front of you and press two candy eyes into the truffle. Then stick the two halved Oreo cookies at the top of the truffle to look like wings.
How to Store Salted Caramel Chocolate Truffles
Always keep truffles in the refrigerator. Outside the fridge, they quickly become soft and sticky - you can keep them for three days after making them. You can also package them airtight and freeze them; this way, they'll stay good for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Question
- Why are my truffles too soft to roll? Give them longer in the fridge - thinner layers set faster than thick ones. If your kitchen runs warm, an extra 30 minutes usually solves it.
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
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Ingredients
Caramel seasalt chocolate truffles
- ¾ cups caramel paste
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, or Fleur de Sel
- 1⅓ cups dark chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons Dutch unprocessed cocoa
Halloween dress up
- 40 candy eyes
- 20 Oreo cookies, Halve the Oreo cookies with a sharp knife.
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
Caramel sea salt chocolate truffles
- Put the caramel with the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is hot.¾ cups caramel paste, 3 tablespoons butter
- Put the chocolate pieces and the salt in a bowl and pour the caramel syrup over it.½ teaspoon sea salt
- Stir well until the chocolate has melted.1⅓ cups dark chocolate chips
- Spread over a plate and cover with plastic foil.
- Allow setting in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Scoop some chocolate filling with a teaspoon and roll a ball between your hands.
- Roll that through the cocoa.3 tablespoons Dutch unprocessed cocoa
Halloween dress up
- Take a truffle and push two candy eyes in the chocolate. On the top, stick two half Oreo cookies to look like wings.40 candy eyes, 20 Oreo cookies
Notes
- Refrigeration: Always keep truffles in the refrigerator. Outside of the refrigeration, they quickly become soft and sticky. You can keep them for three days after making them.
- Freezer - Pack the salted caramel chocolate truffles airtight and freeze. They will stay suitable for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Audrey says
My kids loved these spooky treats!
Ashley says
Wow, so good!!
Kayla DiMaggio says
What a fun treat! I loved the flavor of the salted caramel. So tempted to make these all the time now!
Amy Roskelley says
Love salted caramel, ANYTHING!!
Toni says
These are really nice treat! My kids couldn't stop eating these!
Andréa says
I know, I know. My kids couldn't either 😉