After a few attempts at getting into OpenSSL I checked out GNU TLS and found a pretty decent manual and a clear and simple API. I integrated it into my app (with no certs, just Diffie-Hellman) in under an hour.
(In fairness, OpenSSL has a much longer history and it seems to support a whole lot more functionality that GNU TLS, but I'd never know 'cause I'd never be able to figure it out...)