Now these truffles aren’t like any chocolate confection you’d get from a fancy-pants chocolatier… but I call them truffles because they have a truffle-like texture, and they’re sweet and chocolatey. Need any more convincing?

They’re practically a health-kick, thanks to the fact that the sweetness comes from dried fruit, not sugar. And that also means they’re pretty filling, unlike their pure confection counterparts. I like to use almond meal for substance and yummy nuttiness, dates for substance and sweetness, raw cacao powder because, well, chocolate, raisins for sophisticated depth, and dried sour cherries for added complexity.

Disclaimer: this sweet treat isn’t totally lo-tech, as I use a food processor to make it… You could use old-skool elbow grease by implementing a pestle and mortar, and chopping everything up really fine before starting, however. If you go the lo-tech route (hi-five!), follow the same sequence of steps outlined below.

Here’s how to whip up a health kick disguised as a sweet treat – you may even find yourself replacing chocolate with these morsels of loveliness…! 😀

Flavour: Sweet & sophisticated

Yield: approx 20 truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond meal
• 20 pitted dates – I use barhee/honey dates, as they’re super-sweet and taste extravagantly yummy
• 2 large tablespoons raw cacao powder
• quarter cup raisins
• quarter cup dried sour cherries

Optional extras:

• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or scrape out the vanilla from a dried pod)
• a splash or brandy or rum for another level of sophistication
• finely chopped nuts – hazelnuts or almonds would work best in these

Directions:

1. Toss the almond meal and dates into a food processor, and process until well combined – your mixture should be pretty smooth and starting to ball up
2. Add your cacao powder and raisins; again, process until well combined – if you have a few chunks of raisin, that’s fine
3. Finally, add your sour cherries, and process again until combined – I add these last because I like a few chunks of cherry in my truffles while the rest of the ingredients homogenize into a delicious truffly mix
4. When your mixture is fully combined, it will have started to form a ball in the food processor – take it out, and shape it into a dense ball
5. Divide your truffle mixture into approx 20 pieces (you can make them as large or small as you like, so this part is really up to you)
6. Roll each piece into a ball, and set aside in a large shallow container (enough space is needed to the balls can be separate from one another and not stick together) to chill in the fridge for about an hour
7. Optional extra step: roll each ball in raw cacao powder to finish off – this looks really pretty, and stops them getting overly sticky in your hands when you eat them 😉

These truffles are best eaten chilled, as they soften up quite quickly once outside the fridge. They will keep for at least a week in the fridge, but you’re unlikely to see them last that long… Now just try not to eat them all at once!