‘Tis the season of sweet treats! Avoid all the toxic sugar and food coloring with this nutritious truffle recipe from Debbie Adler, author of Sweet Debbie’s Organic Treats: Allergy-Free & Vegan Recipes.

If a blueberry walked into a bar and hooked up with a cosmopolitan piece of chocolate sass, their love child would be this açaí berry truffle recipe. you would get a taste of açaí. A popular berry from Brazil, açaí conveniently comes in powdered form, so you can easily add it to this truffle recipe. Unlike their store-bough counterparts, these raw truffles are filled with calcium and vitamins A, B6 and E, and are high in antioxidants.

No-Bake Açaí Berry Truffle Recipe

Yield: About 18 Truffles

Ingredients & Materials for Truffles

8 x 8-inch sheet of parchment paper
12 Medjool dates, pitted and halved
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons açaí powder
3 tablespoons frozen (thawed) cranberries
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons cacao powder
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Topping

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

1. Line an 8 x 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the dates, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, açaí powder, cranberries, orange juice, cacao powder and salt in a
food processor or blender and process until almost smooth.
3. Take about 1 tablespoon of the date mixture, and with wet hands, shape it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared pan.
4. Repeat until you have used up all the date mixture.
5. Pour the shredded coconut into a small bowl. Roll each ball in the coconut and place it back on the prepared pan. Put the truffles in the freezer to chill for at least 1 hour.
6. Place the truffles in a sealable plastic bag and keep them frozen until ready to eat.

Nutrition Information Per Serving (1 truffle):
110 calories, 5 g total fat, 0.0 mg cholesterol,
15 g carbohydrates, 30 mg sodium, 3 g fiber,
3 g protein, 9 g sugars

Debbie Adler is the owner and biggest nosher at Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes in Los Angeles. Her debut cookbook, Sweet Debbie’s Organic Treats: Allergy-Free & Vegan Recipes, features 50 delicious recipes for muffins, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, bread and even energy bars that are safe for everyone to eat–every recipe in her book is gluten, dairy, soy, nut and sugar free!

Related on EcoSalon:

Easy Homemade Breakfast Bar Recipe Featuring Goji Berries

When Candy Is Good For your: The Psychology Of Sweets

Kakadu Plum: The New Superfood?

Image and recipe copyright Debbie Adler

The post Easy No-Bake Açaí Berry Truffle Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

There are many reasons why this truffle recipe beats out just about any other variation you’ve had. Reason number one: sweet potato.

And why not? Sweet potato adds just the right amount of sweetness that makes it a natural in the realm of truffles. This sweet potato truffle recipe uses only the finest of ingredients that do your body and mother earth’s creatures a favor. Take a bite! Or two, or three…

Instead of using sugar and dairy to bring flavor to this recipe, I use the richness of coconut oil and the sweetness of maple syrup and sweet potato to make these truffles a surefire treat, without the sugar-induced hangover. These sweet potato truffles are vegan and rank low on the glycemic index.

Sweet Potato Truffles

Makes about 15 truffles

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 1 large sweet potato
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup coconut oil,  melted
• 2 tablespoons flour (any kind works)
• Hefty dash of sea salt
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup almond milk (rice milk and soy milk work well too)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

For the chocolate coating:

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the sweet potato for 45 minutes to one hour, or until it’s soft through the center. (Poke with a fork to find out.) Let the sweet potato cool to room temperature. Remove the skin and place in a food processor with the arrowroot powder and coconut oil. Set aside. In a pot over medium-high heat, add the flour, sea salt, maple syrup, and almond milk. Whisk until smooth and cook until the mixture considerably thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in the extracts. Add the mixture to the food processor with the sweet potato mixture. Blend until smooth and transfer to a bowl. Place the bowl into the refrigerator and let cool. When cool and relatively harder, use a spoon to scoop out truffle-sized bites. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 30 minutes.

While the truffle fillings are freezing, melt the chocolate coating mixture on a double broiler and whisk until smooth. Take each frozen truffle and using a fork or spoon, completely submerge it in the chocolate, returning each back to its place on the parchment-paper coated baking sheet. Once you have repeated this step for all the truffles, transfer to the freezer to harden. Serve cold.

Image: Oksay

Related on EcoSalon:

White Bean and Sweet Potato Veggie Burger Recipe

Vegan Sweet Potato Hash Browns Recipe

The post A Twist on the Regular: Sweet Potato Truffle Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.