Valentine’s Day is being celebrated this weekend around the world. Cards, flowers, chocolates & jewelry are the traditional gifts exchanged, often over romantic, candlelit dinners. Personally, I focus on sending out cards & eating chocolate on Valentine’s Day! Admittedly, chocolate is my favorite food and biggest weakness and I have it on hand all the time, not just around Valentine’s Day. But there is definitely a connection between chocolate and love. Chocolate contains the same chemical found in the human brain that is linked to falling in love. It originally started out as a drink, though.

1100 years ago, the Mayans of South America were the first people to use cacao beans as a food item. Their version of chocolate was a bitter, frothy liquid mixed with spices and water or wine. The Spanish started adding sugar to the chocolate drink in the early 1500s. It took another 350 years for the first eating chocolates to be invented by the English.

I’m going back to the roots of chocolate and kicking off our Valentine’s weekend celebration with a chocolate cocktail. But this isn’t a bitter, frothy liquid. This tastes like a fancy chocolate & raspberry truffle in liquid form. Decadent!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffletini

Chocolate Raspberry Truffletini (adapted from foodandwine.com)  Serves 2 

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces whipped or vanilla vodka
• 2 ounces Irish cream (Bailey’s)
• 1 1/2 ounces raspberry liqueur (Chambord or Raspberry Pucker)
• 1 1/2 ounces coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
• 1 ounce hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico)
• raspberries & chocolate shavings for garnish

Directions:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the liqueurs and shake well. Strain into 2 martini glasses. Garnish with the berries and chocolate shavings, if desired.

This is the perfect cocktail to start off Valentine’s Weekend!  ~Linda

Chocolate-Raspberry Truffletini (adapted from foodandwine.com)  Serves 2 

Ingredients:

•  4 ounces whipped or vanilla vodka
• 2 ounces Irish Cream Liqueur (Bailey’s)
• 1 1/2 ounces raspberry liqueur (Chambord or Raspberry Pucker)
• 1 1/2 ounces coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
• 1 ounce hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico)
• raspberries & chocolate shavings for garnish

 Directions:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the liqueurs and shake well. Strain into 2 martini glasses. Garnish with the berries and chocolate shavings, if desired.