Pumpkin Spice Truffles
‘Tis the season for pumpkin-flavored everything, and I have been drooling over all sorts of pumpkin-y desserts on Pinterest. Pumpkin truffles seemed like something that would be easy to adapt into a healthy-ish treat, and indeed they were. I used a base of coconut butter, coconut oil, and organic pumpkin puree, and spiced it up with cinnamon, nutmeg, and honey.
I dipped these in 85% dark chocolate, but you can keep them dairy free by using a chocolate brand like Enjoy Life. I was more interested in reducing the sugar than the dairy, so I went with the dark chocolate. These are very low sugar for a candy, and of course you can adjust the honey to taste. If you want to reduce the sugar even more, substitute about 20 drops of liquid stevia for half of the honey.
Pumpkin Spice Truffles
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut butter*, warmed to liquid
- 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid
- 3 tablespoons honey (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, for dipping
- *coconut butter is whole, pureed coconut meat, and is also called coconut manna or coconut cream concentrate
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together all of the ingredients but the chocolate. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Chill the filling until it is firm enough to roll into small balls.
- Roll the filling into rounds for the truffle centers–this will make about twenty candies. Place the rolled truffle centers onto a plate and refrigerate again until firm.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring after each 30-second heating interval. When the chocolate is smooth, use a fork to dip the chilled truffle centers, turning them to coat well, and then transfer the dipped truffles to waxed paper or parchment paper to cool. Let the chocolate set completely and then they are ready to serve.
If you want to get really crazy here, you can let the chocolate set up and then do a second dip to form a thicker chocolate shell. I wasn’t feeling quite that uninhibited, so I went with a single dip. Note that whenever you dip candies you are going to end up with some leftover melted chocolate (I know, such a tragedy). I solve this problem by dumping in some almonds or walnuts, stirring it up, and then spreading it out on some waxed paper to make some “bark.” Let it set completely, then break it into pieces and enjoy.