There’s nothing I like better than a recipe for a sweet treat, that appears to be somewhat healthy. This is one of those recipes. When you glance at it, you see that there is no added sugar. There’s no flour. The ingredients are quite good for you….walnuts, pecans, dates, cinnamon, cocoa powder, dark chocolate. What could be bad?   They taste great, so it’s a win/win situation.   I’m not sure I would have tried this recipe on my own, had my friend not brought me the finished product along with the recipe. She felt confident that I would enjoy the truffles and would definitely want the recipe. She was right! Once I popped one of these scrumptious morsels into my mouth, I was so happy to have the recipe, readily at hand, because I knew I would be making them real soon.   I love it when a friend knows me this well!

You certainly don’t need to be Vegan to enjoy them.   Unless you’re making these for someone who is vegan, there’s no need to even mention that. I hesitated even calling them that here, but I wanted to be true to the recipe. And by all means, there’s no reason to tell anyone that they’re healthy. That can tend to scare people away or cloud their judgment. They’re also gluten free, for that matter. But most importantly, they’re delicious!

Did I mention easy?

RECIPE: makes about 14 to 16 truffles

INGREDIENTS

Truffles:

1 cup raw pecans

1 cup raw walnuts

1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder

1/4 tsp. seal salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

10 medjool dates, pitted   (I learned the hard way that these are found in the produce section)

1 1/4 cups dairy free dark chocolate (bar, not chips), roughly chopped. (Regular chocolate can be used if you don’t care about vegan)

1 tsp coconut oil

For Topping:

cacao nibs, crushed pecans/walnuts, and/or sea salt for topping

Instructions:

1.  Place pecans and walnuts in a food processor and process until it reaches a consistency of meal.  Set said in a bowl.
2. Place pitted dates in the food processor and process until small bits remain and/or it forms into a ball.
3. Add in the cocoa powder and 1/2 the nut meal and pulse.  Continue pulsing and adding the nut meal a little at a time.  Add the cinnamon and a generous pinch of sea salt.  Continue pulsing until a posse dough is formed.  You may not need to use all the nuts, which is fine because you can use any leftovers for the topping.
4. Once you have a dough that’s easy to form into balls, scoop out 1 TBSP amounts and roll carefully into balls. (If they aren’t quite forming, hold in your palm and let the heat of your hand warm them, then gently shape into a ball.)  Set on parchment paper and place in freezer to chill
5. In the meantime, melt the chocolate in a double broiler or in the microwave in 30 second increments.  Be careful not to overheat.  Once melted, stir in the coconut oil to help the chocolate thin and ease the dipping process.
6. Remove truffles from freezer and, one at a time, dip them into the melted chocolate. Transfer back onto the parchment paper and top with sea salt, crushed nuts and cacao nibs.
7. Repeat until all truffles are dipped.  Let set at room temperature.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature.  Can be frozen for longer term storage.