If ever there was a “have your cake and eat it too” kind of recipe, this is it: Ginger Date Walnut Chocolate Truffles that will satisfy the most serious sweet tooth in a two-bite morsel packed with good-for-you ingredients. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, now is the time to make these. The fact that they happen to have healthy upsides for the ultimate V-Day symbol — the heart — is a nice bonus.
A Healthier Chocolate Truffle
Unlike traditional truffles that have heaps of heavy cream, these are filled with walnuts, cocoa, and dates, and then dunked in bittersweet chocolate. Walnuts are a well-known “healthy” fat and a solid source of desirable Omega-3 fatty acids. And dark chocolate is packed with powerful antioxidants. The higher the percent cacao in the chocolate, the richer it is in heart-healthy polyphenols (and the lower it’s likely to be in sugar).
To gather all the good-for-you ingredients needed in the recipe, I headed to my local Sprout’ Farmers Market, where the bulk bin section supplied almost everything — dates, nuts, crystallized ginger, and dark chocolate. Lucky for me, I happened to have a container of Sprouts organic cocoa powder already in my pantry.
How to Make Date Walnut Chocolate Truffles
The method for making them is easy: run everything but the dark chocolate through a food processor, form into tidy little balls, and dunk into melted chocolate. A tiny pinch of flaky salt on the crown adds a final pop of flavor.
Ginger, Date, Walnut Chocolate Truffles
These are decadent-tasting treats with not-so-decadent ingredients. The truffles are made with nutrient-packed walnuts, naturally sweet Medjool dates, and antioxidant-rich dark chocolate. They will satisfy even the fiercest sweet tooth and are so chocolatey, one little truffle is all it takes. To enjoy these as energy balls instead of truffles, skip the chocolate dunk and simply roll the balls in cocoa powder.
Ingredients
- 6 medjool dates, pits removed
- 3/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped crystalized ginger
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Sprouts brand organic cocoa powder)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- Flaky salt to garnish (such as Maldon)
Instructions
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Put the pitted dates, walnuts, ginger, cocoa powder, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Run the processor to puree the ingredients into a thick paste, about 20 seconds.
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Roll about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into a smooth ball. Continue with the remainder of the mixture. You should have 12 balls.
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Put the bittersweet chocolate into a small bowl and cook in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir, and continue to cook in 30 second bursts until melted. Stir well.
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Drop one of the truffle balls into the chocolate and turn it with a small spoon to coat all sides. Lift if out of the bowl, allowing excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl. Transfer to the baking sheet. Continue with the remaining truffle balls until all are coated in chocolate.
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Add a tiny pinch of flaky salt to the top of each truffle. Leave to cool until firm.
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Enjoy, or transfer to a jar or covered container and store in the fridge.
