These little date and almond butter treats are so easy to make! They can even be vegan or dairy-free if you use vegan or dairy-free chocolate chips. Lately I’ve been using the Endangered Species oat milk chocolate chips with good results. (I found them in Shop Rite.)
About the calorie count: Each truffle has 66 calories, but this is based on the fact that you won’t use all of the chocolate to dip your little truffles. You’ll need enough chocolate to be able to easily dip the date-and-almond balls. About half the chocolate will be left over at the end.
I used my leftover chocolate to also dip some Trader Joe’s dried orange slices, and those were also fantastic. I’m sure you can find lots of ways to use leftover chocolate!
Also, I’m sure these would work well with any nut butter of your choice. I like almond butter because it’s more neutral-tasting than many other nut butters. Almond butter is also what I happened to have in my pantry.
Date Almond Butter Truffles
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 16 toothpicks
- 1 double boiler (or a saucepan + heatproof bowl)
- waxed paper
Ingredients
- 8 medjool dates (pits removed)
- 2 tablespoon almond butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon canola oil (or other neutral-tasting oil)
Instructions
- Put the dates, almond butter and vanilla extract in a food processor or blender. Pulse until fully blended; the date mixture should be paste-like.
- Roll the date mixture into about 16 little balls.
- Stick a toothpick in each date ball (a handle for dipping later.)
- Put the date balls in the freezer for about 30 minutes, until they become firm.
- Meanwhile, heat 4 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler. If you haven't got a double boiler, fill a saucepan with a few inches of water and lay a heatproof bowl on top of it. Bring the water to a boil; melt the chocolate in the heatproof bowl on top.
- When the chocolate is about 80% melted, stir in ½ teaspoon of canola oil to thin the chocolate out for easy dipping.
- Using the toothpicks as handles, dip each date ball in the chocolate. Swirl to coat well. Transfer each chocolate-dipped date ball to a sheet of waxed paper.
- Allow the date balls to sit out at room temperature for 1 hour to cool (they will cool faster in the refrigerator.)
