Check ingredients Reserve two tablespoons of Karen’s Naturals Just Cherries.
Add cashews, hemp hearts and salt and process until a coarse sand texture is achieved.
Add almond butter and dates and process until sticky. If the mixture is not sticking together, add more almond butter, one teaspoon at a time, processing between additions.
Scoop out tablespoon amounts of the mixture and carefully form into balls using your hands. Set on a parchment-lined large plate. There should be about 12 to 14 truffles. Place in the fridge to set for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, using a double boiler, melt dark chocolate.
Using a mortar and pestle or your food processor, crush the remaining 2 tablespoons of dried cherries a few times. Set aside.
Once the chocolate has melted, remove the truffles from the fridge. Drop the truffles, one at a time, in the melted chocolate.
Using a fork, remove from the chocolate, letting the excess chocolate drip off. Carefully place back on the parchment-lined plate. Repeat with the rest of the truffles.
Top each truffle with the crushed cherries and transfer to the fridge until the chocolate has set completely.
This recipe was created through a partnership with Karen’s Naturals.
Cherry cashew truffles because… February is national CHERRY month!
And I have to say cherries are one of those fruits that I cannot eat enough of. When the warm months come around and the cherries start appearing on the shelves of grocery stores, I get so excited! To me, cherries are the fruit equivalent of chocolate. They have a candy like quality that I just LOVE – their perfect sweetness, their little tang and their juiciness make them an awesome snack.
As the temperature begins to drop here in Montreal, sadly the cherries slowly start to disappear from grocery stores so I tend to switch them out for berries which are available pretty much all year long.
However, this year, my craving for cherries was satisfied earlier than usual. I received a bag of freeze dried Just Cherries from Karen’s Naturals. Their cherries do not contain any additives, preservatives, added sweeteners and GMOs, and are gluten free!
If you were wondering how you freeze dry cherries, the process is rather simple. Cherries are flash frozen, then are placed in a vacuum-like chamber that slowly heats them while extracting all their moisture. The result is a crunchy, sweet and tart dried cherry.
Because of their beautiful flavour profile, I thought these dried cherries would be the perfect base for a truffle. Plus, it was perfect timing since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we all know that cherries + chocolate is a match made in heaven!
By combining Karen’s Natural Just Cherries with cashews, hemp hearts, almond butter and dates, the truffles instantly become deliciously rich and decadent. Cover them in chocolate and you just found yourself with an exquisite flavour bomb.
When I created this recipe, I made my boyfriend try a truffle and he immediately said, “Woah! What is in this? It’s soooo good!” I have made multiple variations of truffles over the past 5 and a half years and he has tasted the majority of them. Therefore, for him to say that and to go for 2 extra truffles immediately, I knew this recipe was a keeper.
These truffles are perfect to give as an edible gift to your loved ones; they are also a lovely dessert to indulge in on a Friday night as a treat after a long week of work.
Enough said.
I think you need these little chocolate covered red gems in your life right now. Just a warning, it will be very hard to eat only one truffle at a time…
If you decide to make these delectable truffles, feel free to share your creations on Instagram and tag me (@muriellebanackissa).
