Candy Cane Millet Chocolate Truffles- Plant-based, gluten free
It is the season of indulgence in all things sweet, decadent and joyful. Amidst the endless cookies, cakes, and other sweets, finding a reasonably healthier dessert without altering the texture or taste as much, while keeping up the excitement of my main audience- my kids, is a holiday recurring challenge that I face.
For the kids, nothing stands up for the holidays as much as candy canes, if you put aside Santa and the presents. So, I went for the flavor that very much reflects the holiday vibes that they relate to. Before trying the millets, I considered just dates with nuts, dates with legumes like chickpeas or black beans, but it is hard to get that fudgy texture that wins the palate. This easy to make, very festive truffles, truly check all my boxes- no processed ingredients, no refined sugar, no dairy or animal products. And they were all gone soon after I was able to take the pictures:)
The process is very simple, if you are in a rush to make them- cook the millets with dates with some nut butter, blend it, then add the star ingredient, cool the mixture, roll into balls, dip them in melted chocolate, then cool them for just a little bit more, before indulging.
Candy Cane Millet Chocolate Truffles
Equipment
- blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup millet of your choice – soaked in 2 cups water for 1 hour at least
- 4 medjool dates pitted
- 2 Tbsp almond butter- you can use any nut butter
- 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 cup chopped blanched almonds can add nuts of your choice- optional
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- pinch of salt
- 1.5 cup vegan chocolate chips/chunks of your choice less sugar content preferred.
Toppings-optional (see notes)
- broken vegan candy cane pieces
- nuts of your choice
- cacao nibs/ chocolate shavings
Instructions
- On medium heat in a heavy bottom sauce pan, add the millets with water. Let it cook for 10 min. Then add the dates to the same pan. Cover with lid for 10 min. Let the millets cook until almost done, then take the lid off. You should notice most of water is now gone, and the millet grains have increased in size.
- Now add the almond butter, cacao powder, salt and cinnamon powder. Mix well and turn off the stove in 2 min, as you notice the contents get slightly thickened.
- Add the mixture to the blender, blitz till a nice fairly smooth mixture is formed. Take this mixture into a bowl.
- At this stage, fold in the nuts of your choice. I added almonds that go well with almond butter. The most important step- add the *peppermint extract*- the star ingredient, that changes everything for this recipe. Do not skip it, if you are looking for the candy cane flavor.It is easy to overdo the peppermint extract, so be mindful of the amount you are adding, otherwise, it will get too minty at the end. Taste the batter and see if it fits your preferance.
- Now put this mixture in the fridge for a minimum of 45 min. It will firm up a bit and will be ready to roll into balls.
- Use your hand and just make balls of roughly equal size from the minty millet mixture. If needed, use a cookie batter scoop for more precision.
- Once your balls are ready, put them on a plate layered with parchment paper.
- Now using double boiler method (pan with water on low medium heat, and chocolate chips to be placed in a bowl in the water to melt), let the chocolate chips melt. I used a mix of semisweet and dark chocolate chunks from enjoylife brand.
- Use a toothpick to hold one of the balls and dip into chocolate so that it coats the ball nicely and the extra chocolate will drip from the ball when you lift it up. Place it back on the parchment paper and gently wiggle the tooth pick out of the ball. Now take toppings of your choice- I used one mini candy cane broken into pieces and topped the chocolate coated balls , paying attention to cover the toothpick hole.
- Once all your truffles are now nicely done, stick them in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Enjoy them right out of the fridge after that big holiday dinner.