Raw Cacao Truffles

Cacao is one of the most nutrient rich foods we know of. It is also delicious! It's chocolate (but with it's nutrient integrity in tact)! There is nothing better then healing and pleasure in the same bite.

Try this basic recipe and experiment with adding chopped bits of other super foods. I like to mix in chopped raw nuts (macadamia, sunflower, cashew, brazil, hazel, coconut flake etc), dries fruits (gogi berries, golden raisins, mulberries, dates, mango, pineapple, etc), hemp seeds, cacao nibs, maca powder, brown rice tocotrienols, spirulina or blue green algae powder. Any, or a little of all of these, are delicious and of course nutritious!

Cacao nibs are one of my favorite additions because they add a toffee-like crunch. I like to roll my finished truffles in chopped cacao nibs and a little sprinkle of coconut crystals.

You can play with the flavors as well by blending in organic essences/extracts such as almond or fresh herbs like mint or lavender.

Another tip is to use coconut nectar as a sweetener as opposed to agave. It is more nutrient rich and has a lower glycemic index rating. If you like them sinfully sweet add a tablespoon of raw honey as well.

Keep a batch in the fridge (they last for at least a week) and eat one a day. You will notice they give you an immediate boost of energy!

Raw Cacao Truffles

¼ cup cacao butter or paste, gently melted
2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour in cold water (you can experiment with using other raw nuts, or hemp seeds, in place of or in combination with cashews)
½ cup raw cacao powder
½ cup coconut nectar
¼ cup coconut oil
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. raw vanilla powder
¼ tsp. sea salt
(1 cup or so of chopped up add-ins, and 1 cup or so of something to roll truffles in)

1. To melt the cacao: bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a medium sauce pan. Place the cacao butter/ paste in a large glass bowl that can sit on the rim of the sauce pan without touching the water. Place the bowl over the hot water and use the gentle heat to melt the cacao butter/paste, stir with a spatula. It melts quite easily so this will not take long.
2. Place melted cacao butter/paste in a food processor with all the other ingredients (except add-ins) and process until smooth and fudgy. Stop the processor a few times and mix everything around with a spatula to insure things are getting smoothed out evenly. When it is nice and smooth scrape the mixture into a bowl and fold in your add-ins. Let the mixture rest in the fridge for a few minutes so it can firm up a little.
3. Roll firmed cacao mixture into heaping teaspoon-size balls. Roll each ball in chopped cacao nibs, coconut flake, coconut crystals etc. Place truffles in the fridge for at least ½ an hour to set. Enjoy!

Yields: About 20 truffles