Chocolate Macadamia Truffles

We made these delicious dairy free truffles for our Fall Favorites Class in October 2021. They are simple to make and perfect to serve or bring to a holiday party. We prepared them with macadamia nuts inside and crushed macadamias on the outside. I also showed the class several alternatives including plain chocolate with cacao on the outside, peanut with peanut powder on the outside, coconut, hazelnut, cinnamon, the options are endless! Get creative and have some fun! This is a great activity to do with the kids as well! They love to roll the truffles!

Ingredients:

9 oz. dairy free chocolate (I like the Trader Joe’s 72% dark pound plus bar), finely chopped OR substitute chocolate chips

½ cup coconut cream (skim the cream off a can of coconut milk*)

3 Tbsp. cashew butter**

1/8 tsp. sea salt if cashew butter is unsalted

¼ cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Salted macadamia nuts

Directions:

1. Create a double boiler by putting about an inch of water into a small saucepan. Bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to low. Place a heat resistant bowl over the saucepan.

2. To the bowl, add chocolate, coconut cream, cashew butter, vanilla, and maple syrup, stirring occasionally until just melted. Whisk until smooth and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

3. While chocolate mixture is chilling, place 1 ½ cups of macadamia nuts into a food processor/spice mill and pulse until finely ground. Set aside in a small bowl.

4. Once chocolate is firm you are ready to “roll”!  If your mixture is too hard to roll, let it sit out on the counter for about 15 minutes before rolling your truffles. Use a Tablespoon or melon baller to form truffles, about 1” round. While rolling them, tuck a macadamia nut into the center. Once round, lightly roll the truffle in the ground nuts. Set truffles on a platter and refrigerate until firm again. Serve cold or at room temperature.

* Use full fat coconut milk and ensure that the coconut milk contains only coconut, water and possibly a gum. Not added fillers or other ingredients. If your coconut milk does not separate, you can still use it, just lessen the amount to 1/3 cup and your truffles might be a bit softer.

** Make your own cashew butter by placing cashews into a food processor. Be sure to use raw, not roasted cashews. Process for about 10 minutes, stopping every few minutes to scrape down your bowl. After 10 minutes, if it is still very thick, add a teaspoon of avocado oil and process till smooth. You should need VERY little oil as the nuts contain plenty of oil. You want a very smooth cashew butter to make the best truffles. You can substitute another nut, but most other nuts will impart a stronger flavor to the truffle. They are also usually harder to get truly smooth. You can also substitute a store bought nut butter or tahini!

***Optional: instead of macadamia nuts, feel free to substitute peanuts, or no nuts at all! Roll the truffles in ground peanuts, cacao powder, cocoa nibs, or coconut. Add a Tbsp. of your favorite liqueur for a boozy truffle! If making plain, I like to have several small bowls with a variety of toppings to make an assortment of different truffles!