Ok stick with me here. I’ve been dabbling in vegan cooking and baking lately. I’m still definitely eating meat, but my main goal is really focusing on eating a lot more whole foods, especially fruits and veggies. But it’s Valentine’s Day! And you know I’m all about celebrating holidays with lots of festive foods, so I had to make some chocolates.
I’ve heard a lot about date “caramel” lately and decided to try it out for the first time last weekend. My expectations were extremely low, but it turned out amazing! I kind of can’t stop eating it with apple slices. Yum. This time I’m venturing in a little deeper and making some date caramel truffles coated in chocolate. I decided to add shredded coconut and peanut butter to some of them because it sounded good. Spoiler alert: it was. It’s hard to describe just how awesome these are. Suffice it to say, it will be a miracle if any of them actually make it all the way to Valentine’s Day.
Date Truffles
-1 heaping cup pitted dates
-1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-Pinch of salt
-Optional: peanut butter and shredded coconut
First let your dates soften up in very hot water for about 20 minutes. Drain and add them to a food processor with the coconut oil, vanilla, and salt. Blend everything together until a ball forms. Depending on your food processor this can take a few minutes. Just be patient and scrape down the sides often. Once you have a nice, smooth texture, place it in a bowl and put it into the freezer for about 10 minutes or until it’s firm enough to roll into small balls. You can make these any size you want, but I made mine a little smaller than a walnut. If you’re so inclined, roll some of them in the coconut and flatten the others out a bit and topped them with a little dollop of peanut butter. Throw everything back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Chocolate Sauce
-1/2 c cocoa powder
-1/2 c coconut oil, melted
-1/4 c maple syrup
Whisk all ingredients together. Finally drop the date balls into the chocolate sauce and set back onto the sheet tray. The chocolate will start to set up immediately since the date mixture is so cold. Dunk them back into the chocolate a second time, and then, you guessed it, back to the freezer just until the chocolate sets. Store them in either the freezer or the fridge and enjoy!
Adeline Alley 