Healthy Chocolate-Covered Date & Almond Truffles
When you bite through the soft chocolate shell coating and into the sweet and chewy center, you won't believe these dark chocolate date & almond truffles are made from whole, natural ingredients like dates, nuts, and seeds. The mixture comes together quickly and easily in a food processor.
Ingredients
Instructions
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Place pitted and soaked dates, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, almonds, and sunflower seeds into your food processor. Blend/pulse until a moist dough forms, as pictured above. This will take a minute or two of processing. If the dough is too dry and crumbly, add a teaspoon of warm water.
Once dough is formed, roll into 1-Tablespoon-size balls and place onto prepared baking sheet. Set aside.
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Continue Reading at Sallysbakingaddiction →Chef's Notes
Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can start this recipe 1 day ahead of time. The shaped balls can be chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days prior to coating with chocolate. You can freeze the finished truffles for up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Food Processor or Small Blender | Double Boiler, Glass Mixing Bowls, or Liquid Measuring Cup | Candy Dipping Tools
Almonds: I *strongly recommend* roasted, salted almonds. Using raw, unsalted almonds means you will lose a lot of flavor. Taste testers did not enjoy the truffles made with raw, unsalted almonds. If you choose to use raw, unsalted almonds, be sure to add 1/8 teaspoon salt to the food processor.
Sunflower Seeds: I recommend raw sunflower seeds. You can use roasted, salted sunflower seeds but keep in mind your mixture will be a little saltier. Perfectly fine if you enjoy salty/sweet treats. Instead of using sunflower seeds, you can use pepitas (pumpkin seeds), or use 1/2 cup of whole almonds for a total of 1 cup (140g) whole almonds in the recipe.
Chocolate: For the best-looking and -tasting truffles, use 4-ounce “baking chocolate” bars found in the baking aisle. I prefer Baker’s or Ghirardelli brands. You need two 4-ounce bars for this recipe, 8 ounces (226g) total. You can use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate. Do not use chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the correct consistency for coating.
Oil With Chocolate: Just 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil or coconut oil makes the chocolate coating perfectly smooth, and it sets a little softer on the truffles. It’s optional, and you can skip it if desired.
Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can start this recipe 1 day ahead of time. The shaped balls can be chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days prior to coating with chocolate. You can freeze the finished truffles for up to 2–3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Food Processor or Small Blender | Double Boiler, Glass Mixing Bowls, or Liquid Measuring Cup | Candy Dipping Tools
Almonds: I *strongly recommend* roasted, salted almonds. Using raw, unsalted almonds means you will lose a lot of flavor. Taste testers did not enjoy the truffles made with raw, unsalted almonds. If you choose to use raw, unsalted almonds, be sure to add 1/8 teaspoon salt to the food processor.
Sunflower Seeds: I recommend raw sunflower seeds. You can use roasted, salted sunflower seeds but keep in mind your mixture will be a little saltier. Perfectly fine if you enjoy salty/sweet treats. Instead of using sunflower seeds, you can use pepitas (pumpkin seeds), or use 1/2 cup of whole almonds for a total of 1 cup (140g) whole almonds in the recipe.
Chocolate: For the best-looking and -tasting truffles, use 4-ounce “baking chocolate” bars found in the baking aisle. I prefer Baker’s or Ghirardelli brands. You need two 4-ounce bars for this recipe, 8 ounces (226g) total. You can use semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate. Do not use chocolate chips because they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the correct consistency for coating.
Oil With Chocolate: Just 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil or coconut oil makes the chocolate coating perfectly smooth, and it sets a little softer on the truffles. It’s optional, and you can skip it if desired.
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Reviews from the Original Source
I made these with all sunflower seeds and I toasted them. They turned out very good! I did add a little maple syrup because it tasted a little to bitter for me but I really like them!
Taste great, will definitely make again! Just wondering, is there any alternatives to the food processor?
These are ridiculously good. My husband is dairy and gluten free, so I thought he might like these. He wanted to eat the whole tray at once. I can't believe how good they taste for how healthy they are. A keeper for sure!
Oooohmagosh I have been dreaming of making these again. The first time I made them for my mother in-law for her birthday. I gave her half the batch and completely planned to share out the rest with family and friends. Instead I ATE THEM ALL. MYSELF.
In a matter of days. If you are on a health kick, these should pretty much work for all of them...unless you are avoiding carbs. Dates do have carbs so you will want to calculate your macros and restrict your intake. Or be like me and toss your carb goals to the wind because these are so dang delicious. Agree with another commenter...next time I make these I will use Lillys chocolate for a delicious no sugar brand for the coating. Don't skil the maldon salt on top!
Forgot to mention I only had raw Almonds and Sunflower seeds, so I roasted both in the oven about 10 min and added a bit of salt to the mixture instead! Did I mention these are amazing?? You'd never know they were nuts and dried fruits and no added sugar.
I didn’t find Medjool dates, so I used standard ones. They probably weren’t the caramel sweet candies Sally describes, but they were pretty darn tasty. It’s really hard to go wrong with the combination of ingredients, especially chocolate. Someday I will try these with Medjool dates, but for now I’ll be over here nibbling on my delicious, second-rate truffles.
A great healthish dessert option.
What healthy treat!!! Hard to believe the only added sugar is what’s contained in the dark chocolate! The almonds are crunchy despite having been put through the food processor, and add a lovely texture. I sprinkled them Maldon salt, which not only added to the attractiveness of the truffles, they gave a subtle extra flavor and crunch. Will certainly make these again and again! Note: I could not find unsalted sunflower seeds, but it really didn’t impact the truffles that I used salted.
These are wonderful! The perfect go to sweet treat with less guilt! Another favorite recipe of Sally’s!
These are amazing!
Awesome recipe for a healthier chocolate truffle! They taste great! I recommend weighing the ingredients because I had to use several more than 14 dates to get approximately 300-325g. I would definitely make this again!
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