Nut-Free Dark Chocolate Truffles

By coffeycake

Soft and chewy dark chocolate truffles that are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, and vegan!

Ingredients

• For the filling:
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped (preferably organic)
• 1 tablespoon honey or Grade B maple syrup
• 1/2 cup (packed) pitted Medjool dates
• 1/3 cup natural unsweetened sunflower seed butter (see note below)
• 2 tablespoons canned coconut milk (full fat)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of sea salt
• For the coating:
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (preferably organic)
• 3 tablespoons honey or Grade B maple syrup
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk (full fat)

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from dailybitesblog.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the filling: place the 1 ounce chocolate and 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup in a small pot set over very low heat. Stir constantly until just melted and smooth. Transfer to a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the remaining filling ingredients. Process until the mixture forms a ball. Break up the ball with a rubber spatula and process until it forms a ball again. Do this one more time. The filling “dough” should be slightly tacky but not too sticky to handle. Divide the ball of dough into 4 equal pieces. Divide each piece in half, forming 8 pieces. Form 2 small balls out of each piece, yielding 16 truffle balls total. Place the balls on a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet and freeze for at least 10 minutes while you make the coating. In a small pot over very low heat, combine all of the coating ingredients. Stir constantly until just melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Working quickly, roll the truffle balls in the coating, placing them back on the parchment-lined baking sheet as they are done. Working quickly is important, as the coating will begin to firm up and become “goopy” if you dilly dally. If desired, sprinkle the tops of the truffles with sea salt. Freeze or refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. Ingredient Note: The sunflower seed butter that I use is organic and unsweetened from Once Again. I get it at my co-op. It has a thick consistency close to that of chilled peanut butter. Ideally, use a nut/seed butter for this recipe that is spreadable, not pourable. Some brands of nut/seed butter are runnier than others. If your brand is more on the runny side (pourable), use 1/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup. You can always add a little more later, but you don’t want your filling mixture to be too soft to work with. (If it is, put it in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes to help firm it up before you roll it into balls.)

- See more at: http://www.dailybitesblog.com/2013/02/12/nut-free-dark-chocolate-truffles/#sthash.SectLiPc.dpuf