Whiteley Creek Homestead

Dick and I are camped out in our travel trailer just feet away from our daughter's house outside a little village in New York. We are lightening her work load post baby delivery by transporting her other three children to and fro. Here and there. Yonder and beyond. Three separate schools… middle, elementary, and preschool. Three different schedules. During the 2 1/2 hours that preschool is in session, we explore the area. Today, our meandering led us to a natual food store where I picked up a free issue of Natural Awakenings Magazine November 2012. After school, as my granddaughter flipped through the pages, a recipe for Raw Vegan Chocolate Truffles caught her attention. It had few ingredients and simple steps. Perfect for a quick snack before bedtime on a school night. So we got busy and gathered ingredients.

Nuts, pitted dates, cacao* powder, and coconut oil. *Cacao is the bean that comes from the cacao tree. Cocoa is what the bean is called after it has been processed (roasted). Cacao is raw – it hasn't undergone heat processing, so its antioxidants are preserved. Cacao is the highest whole food source of magnesium, an important mineral that is often deficient in our diet. Cacao powder is interchangeable with cocoa powder in recipes.   

Raw Vegan Chocolate Truffles

1 cup raw nuts

¾ cup pitted dates

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

Small amount of water, almond milk, or unmelted coconut oil

Optional: Roll the truffles in ground nuts or unsweetened coconut flakes.

In a food processor, blend the nuts, dates, and cacao powder. If the mixture is too dry to form into balls, add a little water, almond milk, or unmelted coconut oil starting with 1 tsp and possibly adding more to get a thick paste consistency. (I used 1 tbsp unmelted coconut oil. Perfect.) Roll into ½ inch balls, then optionally coat with ground nuts or unsweetened coconut. To modify the chocolate’s intensity, adjust the amount of cacao.