What We’re Cooking this Weekend: Peppermint Chocolate Truffles

With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about what kind of presents you want to receive… but more importantly, the kind of presents you want to give! And nothing says, “I really care about you!” like gifting someone a box of delicious, homemade Peppermint Chocolate Truffles. And just in case you have a bunch of people you really care about, I’ve made this recipe as easy as it gets, so feel free to double, triple or even quadruple the amounts. Simple ingredients, minimal steps, and zero kitchen skill requirements.

Let’s talk about the recipe: A high-speed food processor is my kitchen tool of choice, but you can also use a high-speed blender. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, a regular one will be just fine, it will just take a tad bit longer. You’ll be blending some soaked dates, hardly anything intense on a blender or food processor. If you want your truffles to be the best they can be, get some good quality dark chocolate. Just make sure it’s vegan, of course. I use a 70% Belgium Dark Chocolate bar that happens to be vegan, but as long as it ‘s a dairy-free dark chocolate that tastes good, your truffles will also taste good! And that’s all I have to say for this recipe, so let's get started making some Peppermint Chocolate Truffles!

Ingredients:

Truffles

• 1 Cup Dates, pitted and soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
• 1 ½ Cup Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped 
• ¼ - ½ Tsp Peppermint extract, depending how strong you want the peppermint to be

Toppings

• Candy Canes, crushed 
• Cocoa Powder

Directions:

1. Drain your dates and transfer to a food processor. Blend until you get a date paste. Scrape the sides as needed. 
2. Melt your dark chocolate either over a double boiler or in the microwave for 30-second intervals. Once melted, turn your food processor on to a low speed and slowly drizzle your melted chocolate in. Once it’s all in, add your peppermint extract turn your food processor on to high until well combined. 
3. Transfer your mixture to a loaf pan or baking dish and evenly spread it out. Place in the fridge for 30 – 60 minutes. 
4. Remove your truffle mixture and scoop out about 1 ½ Tbsp of your truffle mixture and roll it into balls until your mixture is done. 
5. Top it off with either crushed candy canes or roll it in some cocoa powder.
6. Enjoy as-is or send it to someone special!