Raw Truffles Balls

 Have you ever read the ingredient list on a box of imported Truffles from Europe? It’s not a pretty sight nor is it healthy. This raw variation comes from the book “Entertaining in the Raw” by Matthew Kenney.

 Ingredients:

• Cacao Powder (3/4 cup)
• Cashews (1 cup) (can substitute Almonds)
• Tahini (3/4 cup) (raw tahini is not as creamy as toasted tahini)
• Cacao Butter (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
• Vanilla Extract (3 tbs)
• Agave Nectar (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
• Cinnamon (3 tbs heaping)
• Nutmeg (1 tbs)
• Salt to taste

Matthew Kenney`s recipe says to soak the cashews for 2 to 4 hours. I omit this step. I just put the cashews in a food processor for about a minute to grind them to a powder.  He also uses coconut oil, I substitute Cacao Butter for the coconut oil. Raw coconut oil is cheaper but makes the truffles taste very salty although still good. A company called Artisana makes a raw Cacao Butter. They take cacao pods and cold press them to get the butter. Cacao butter is a solid at room temperature. So first it must be melted on low heat (Below 110 F). Health food stores should carry it. Look for cacao butter that is organic and cold pressed.

After running the cashews in the food processor add the cacao powder, tahini, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the food processor. Blend for about 1 minute. Then slowly add the agave nectar and melted cacao butter while blending. Using a spoon, ice cream scoop or melon baller, roll one mix into the size ball you want. If it does not hold together well, you can add more agave nectar to the mix in the food processor and blend to get the balls to hold together. You can see by the photo that my truffle balls are not very round. I refuse to conform to western civilization societal norms.  Mine are the size of my thumb. Experiment with the ingredient amounts to get the flavor you like. Before rolling into balls, you can taste and adjust.

These keep for a year sealed in the freezer or 2 months in a sealed container in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat them, they are crunchy when taken straight out of the freezer. From the fridge they are a little softer. To prove to yourself that raw from scratch tastes better than a mass produced corporate poison ball, go to a grocery store and buy some fancy schmancy truffle balls imported from China. Try them side by side with your homemade creation and see which is the real thing. Salud!