Cacao Surprise Truffles

I made these cacao surprise truffles kinda last minute for us to enjoy on Valentine’s Day and we ended up eating the whole batch that night. These are perishable and best not to store in the fridge for too long, so we had to do what we had to do. There’s also just the part about these being incredibly delicious and decadent.

If you don’t already know, the secret ingredient is avocado! It makes these truffles incredibly creamy and adds to the richness. Hooray for healthy fats! Make sure you use a ripe avocado when making these though, otherwise they’ll taste kinda green. It doesn’t have to be overly ripe, but ripe enough and ready for eating.

Also, as some of you know, Jesse and I floated in a sensory deprivation tank yesterday evening. I will be recapping about this experience.

Cheers!

Cacao Surprise Truffles

Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
• 1.5 Tbsp raw honey
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 ripe medium avocado
• Unsweetened shredded coconut and cacao powder for rolling, optional

Note: cacao nibs, crushed nuts, goji berries, etc. are also great options for rolling the truffles

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the raw honey, cacao powder, cinnamon and cayenne. Once honey is dissolved and mixture is combined, remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
2. Peel and pit the avocado, and add to a food processor or blender. Process until nearly smooth. Then, add the chocolate mixture and process again, until smooth. Scrape down the sides and re-blend as needed. Alternatively, you can mash the avocado by hand with a fork (get all the lumps out) and then stir in the chocolate.
3. Scrape chocolate avocado mixture out and into a bowl (unless you made it by hand, then you can keep it in the same bowl) and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 25-30 minutes.
4. Once chilled, scoop out tablespoon-sized balls and roll between your hands to form a truffle (note: this part is messy and sticky!). Place each truffle on a foil or parchment paper lined plate. Chill in the refrigerator about 5-7 minutes.
5. Remove from fridge and smooth out any rough/fuzzy looking spots on the truffles with your fingers. Then, roll half in cacao powder and half in unsweetened coconut shreds, or other toppings of choice.
6. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Yields: about 13 truffles