Matcha and Coconut Butter Truffles
It’s that time of year when the store shelves are lined with holiday candies–heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, incredibly early Easter egg candies, and some lingering, sad-looking Santa treats. It’s pretty much a sugar fest out there. If you want to indulge in something sweet and rich that you can feel pretty great about eating, I have a candy for you. This recipe stars the nutritional wonders of matcha, which is a shade-grown green tea that is ground into a fine powder. Unlike typical green tea, which you brew and then discard, with matcha you are literally eating the tea leaves. There is a great deal of research regarding the health benefits of matcha, and for tea freaks (like me) it also tastes really amazing.
I made the creamy truffle base with a mix of coconut butter–which is whole coconut meat, finely ground into an almond-butter-like texture–and some coconut cream from a jar of coconut milk. If you haven’t tried coconut butter I recommend that you run out and buy a jar right now. It is rock-solid at room temperature so you have to warm it to liquid before use, but it is creamy, slightly sweet, and very rich. You may also find it labeled coconut manna or coconut cream concentrate. To sweeten the mix I added stevia and a little honey, which you can adjust to taste. If you are not concerned about carbs, you can skip the stevia and go with 2-3 tablespoons of honey.
To dip the entire batch of truffles in dark chocolate you would need about 6-8 ounces of chocolate, depending on your dipping skills (if you are an amateur dipper, like me, go for the larger amount to account for errors and spoon-licking).
Matcha and Coconut Butter Truffles
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut butter
- 1/3 cup coconut cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons matcha
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 10-15 drops liquid stevia
- dark chocolate and/or cocoa, for dipping and rolling
Instructions
- To measure the coconut butter, remove the lid and place the jar in the microwave. Heat on high for one minute, or until it is warm enough to scoop. Pour the coconut butter into a medium bowl along with the coconut cream (this is the solid layer on top of a jar of coconut milk–just scoop it off and leave the liquid layer behind). Stir until blended, and then stir in the matcha, honey, and stevia, tasting and adjusting to the level of "sweet" you prefer.
- Refrigerate the truffle filling for 15 minutes, or until it is firm enough to roll into balls. Using your hands, roll the filling into small rounds, using about a tablespoon of filling per truffle. If you are going to dust them in cocoa, do this right after rolling and then refrigerate the truffles (I sifted some cocoa with a little powdered stevia, and used that to roll half of the truffles). If you want to dip them into dark chocolate, refrigerate for an hour after rolling so they will be firm enough to dip.
- For chocolate-dipped truffles, break up your chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until the chocolate is completely melted. Dip the truffles into the chocolate and then place them on waxed paper to cool. Note: if you want to keep these dairy-free, be sure your chocolate does not contain dairy. Enjoy Life brand is dairy and soy free.
- Makes about two dozen small truffles.