Johnna’s Candy Cane Truffles

Ingredients

• 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted & sliced in half (I like the ones from the produce department best, softer)
• 1 cup raw almonds (if you only have roasted, use those!)
• 2/3 cup dried cherries, not sweetened with sugar
• 1/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips, I use Enjoy Life
• 2 crushed candy canes, plus 2 additional for final step
• 1 t. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract or scrape one vanilla bean
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

Instructions

1. In the bowl of food processor, add dates and process until they form a ball. Remove from the food processor.
2. Next, process cashews, cherries, chocolate chips and 2 candy canes until they are finely chopped. Stop before the cashews turn into a powder.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the dates, cashews, cherries, chocolate chips and candy canes. Add in the vanilla and sea salt. Mix very well with your hands until everything is well incorporated. This is like kneading dough. You'll have a very sticky mixture.
4. Roll into 24 equal sized balls. Roll each ball in cocoa powder. If you like a lighter coating, use a pastry brush to remove a bit of the cocoa powder. Finish by lightly pressing top into remaining 2 crushed candy canes.

Rachel Says