Ok, cocoa bliss balls, is what they call them, if you want to be completely accurate. But I’ll call them chocolate truffles anyway because they are a GREAT (and healthier) substitute for a similar indulgence, with texture pretty close to it. I first discovered cacao bliss balls at my cousin Barbara Tiu’s The Little Spatula— those little balls of indulgence that are made with wholesome ingredients, packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. I was having chocolate cravings and ran out of those balls– and because I didn’t have the patience to wait for another day’s delivery, I decided to make my own– a simplified version at that– and it’s so surprisingly easy! (And you guys know I don’t really cook unless absolutely necessary.) I googled bliss balls recipes online and decided to pattern mine after Simple Vegan Blog’s raw cacao bites. However, while they used walnuts and medjool dates, I used almonds (less fatty- and I love almonds!) and deglet noor dates (it was what we had in the fridge; they are not as sweet nor moist as medjool dates), and cocoa powder (again, it’s what we had at home).
These are just THREE ingredients— taking just all of five minutes to make, and with the gorgeous consistency and taste profile of a chocolate truffle. Plus, they are dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo-friendly and vegan! Sound too good to be true? Nope, they’re for real!
Now I’m going to share with you how to make them 🙂
Are you ready? Let’s go.
INGREDIENTS (Makes 10 balls):
1/2 cup almond slivers
1/2 cup pitted dates
1-1.5 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder (you can use raw cacao if you want a richer taste)
*A couple of dashes of almond milk if the mixture is too dry to form into a ball. (I used an unsweetened vanilla almond milk flavor).
PREPARATION:
1) Blend the almond slivers in a food processor.
2) Add in the dates and cocoa powder and then blend again.
3) In my case, they were too dry to form into balls, so I added a couple of dashes of almond milk for binding.
4) Roll them out into balls with the palm of your hands.
5) You can eat them right away– but I personally think they taste better after being put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. (I’m also in a tropical country where the temperature is a scorching 36 C or 96 F, so it might be ready to eat straight away elsewhere in the world with cooler climates.)
And in case you’re curious about the calorie count:
For this particular recipe, 1 chocolate ball has roughly about 54 calories/ 8 g of carbs/ 3 g of fat. How did I arrive at that? I just looked at the packaging content, and since I know exactly what I put in, I added and divided accordingly– the beauty of making things yourself!
If you want to make more, just double up the quantity! I hope you enjoy them 🙂 Something to curb that immediate chocolate fix with basic ingredients you most likely have at home! xx
