Raw Cacao Truffles
Okay, I LOVE these! They are adapted from The Beauty Detox, by Kimberly Snyder, but I have been making them so long now, I have added, modified and am doing my own thing with them, as I hope you will, too.
I can write this recipe by heart:
1 cup of raw, unpasteurized almonds, soaked overnight. (I get them delivered as you can’t buy unpasteurized almonds in New York.)
3 Medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup organic raisins
I/2 Tbls coconut oil
3/4 cup raw cacao powder
pinch sea salt (to taste)
pinch raw cacoa nibs (to taste)
Filtered water – about 3 tblsps depending on the texture.
For the coating – Optional
Lightly ground cacao nibs
Raw coconut shreds
Dry the soaked almonds in your dehydrator for 30 minutes, or on a low heat in the oven. You could even turn the oven on high, let it warm up, turn it off, stick the almonds in, and let them dry that way. It depends on how raw you would like this dish. On hot New York days, I put them in the window to let the sun dry them.
Once the almonds are dry, grind them up in your food processor until they are as fine as they can be. Then, add the cacao powder and give it another whizz. Turn off and scrape down the sides. Turn the machine back on and drop in the dates and the raisins as the machine is running, followed by the sea salt and the cacoa nibs. Then add the coconut oil.
Sometimes, if I haven’t fully dried the almonds, at this point it will already start coagulating, in which case I will only add a little water. You have to watch the consistency at this point. Add the water, gradually. I add a tablespoon, watch what happens, then add another one, etc. You want the mixture to gather together to form a sort of dough. Sometimes, it will even switch the machine off for me!
Have the nibs and the shreds ready in a shallow dish; I use a tupperware box. These days I mix the nibs and coconut, but you can have them in separate dishes, if you prefer.
Lay a piece of wax paper onto a small baking tray. I use a tray with a slight lip to prevent the balls from rolling off. Scoop out a small amount of the truffle mixture, roll into a small ball in your hand, then roll around in the coating of your choice. Once complete, lay on the baking tray. Continue until you have a good amount of truffles; I can often get between 20-25 balls from this amount of mixture.
Place the tray flat in the fridge, so the truffles can harden. This takes around 30 minutes. Then transfer them to a tupperware box with a lid, to keep them moist. If you leave them out for too long, they can dry out too much.