You can make these globes of chocolate love with five or six ingredients in twenty minutes. Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles are easier than cookies, healthy, and yet so good the first bite made me say WOW out loud! If you don’t have hazelnuts, you could use walnuts or pecans. Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles cost just 65 cents each or $7.77 for a dozen, using organic ingredients.
Did I say healthy? Yes! These flavor balls have no added fat, no added sugar, and are dairy-free and gluten-free. Of course I used organic ingredients and you can too. They are rich in phytonutrients, minerals, and fiber, as well as in yum. Because this recipe gets its sweetness from dates instead of sugar, it is a WFPB dessert (Whole Foods Plant Based).
Make Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles for Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, or whenever you want chocolate goodness and chocolate glow. You can even call them Chocolate Hazelnut Energy Balls and take them on a hike!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Passive Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
pieces
|
- 1 cup raw hazelnuts (140 grams)
- 1 cup dates pitted (120 grams)
- 2 tablespoons dried unsweetened coconut optional (10 grams), possibly a little more
- 1/3 cup Healthworks Organic Cacao or other cacao or cocoa powder (60 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- sesame seeds or cacao for rolling truffles, optional
Ingredients
|
Rate this recipe!
|
- Heat your oven or convection toaster oven to 375°F. Put hazelnuts in a rimmed baking pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. (I use an 11” x 7” pan.) Roast hazelnuts for 8 minutes. Get out a clean, rough-textured towel that you don't mind staining.
- Put dates in a measuring cup or bowl and pour water over them. Let them soak and soften. Set up your food processor with its stainless steel blade. If coconut is in large flakes, pulse it a few times in the food processor to cut it into small bits. Put coconut on a small plate so you can roll truffles in it later.
- When hazelnut skins start to split and nuts are golden brown, dump them on the towel. Wrap the towel around nuts and let them steam for 5 minutes.
- Pick up the towel with the hazelnuts and rub them briskly through the towel. Most of the skins will stick to the towel. Yaay! You may have to lift the hazelnuts back into their baking dish, shake nut skins from the towel, and repeat. You don't have to get every skin, but they are somewhat bitter. Sometimes you can pry a dark-brown section up with your fingernail, and the rest of the skin will pop off. Put peeled hazelnuts into the food processor as you go.
- Drain dates and gently squeeze them with a spoon to remove excess water. Add dates, cacao, vanilla, and salt to the food processor. Whir them up on high for about a minute, until truffle mixture starts to come together.
- Open the food processor and pinch truffle mixture. You want it to stick together but not cling to your fingers. Add a little water if it is too dry or a little coconut if it is too wet. Taste it and adjust as needed. When the texture is right, shape it into twelve or so truffles. If you want, roll truffles in coconut (our favorite), cacao powder, sesame seeds, or whatever rocks your world.
- Serve at once or put in a container. I keep Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles in the refrigerator, but no ingredient needs to be chilled. They should freeze well too.
Notes
How to shape the truffles. In step six, I dump the truffle mixture onto a large clean cutting board and press it firmly into a log about the length of a pencil. Then I cut it into twelve even sections (into half, quarters, and then twelfths) before rolling each disk between my palms to make spheres. You could just dish it out by the teaspoon or tablespoon, but I like planning how many servings I'll have. For me, the log trick is faster too.
Nutritional Information for Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles
Just 131 calories each, with 8 grams of fat and only 1 gram of saturated fat.
Supporting members, please log in to see the detailed nutritional information. If you have any problems, please check this guide. If you aren't a supporter, learn how to join today!
