I was at Bulk Barn last week to pick up hemp seeds and I left with various red and pink mini cupcake liners, dried cherries, red heart tins, hearts on a stick, and V-Day heart tags. You know, baking “construction materials”. Gag me. I tell ya, I embarrass myself sometimes. Oh, and I forgot the hemp seeds.
I don’t even remember what I wanted hemp for anyways.
It’s all about the dried tart cherries right now. They taste like fruit roll-ups…but better.
I rarely think to pair cherries and chocolate throughout the year, but once February hits, it’s all I can think about. I also like to add a touch of almond extract to take cherry recipes over the top. Almond extract brings me back to my childhood when I used to eat cherry almond icebox cookies around the holidays. There’s just something about the scent that is so comforting to me.
I decided to make a cherry truffle based off my Chocolate Macaroon truffles. The best part is you can freeze the truffles ahead of time. The worst part is, they taste best straight from the freezer.
So if you are like me and think, “oh if I put them in the freezer I won’t eat them all!”… think again. I’m not a miracle worker here.
A freezer will not stand in the way of a girl and her truffles! I wouldn’t stand for it.
[Despite my best efforts to be a food stylist, I just noticed the chocolate chips and cherries look a bit like rodent droppings on the dinner table. Now that’s romantic!]
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Dark Chocolate Cherry Walnut Truffles
Yield
23-24 truffles
Prep time
Cook time
Chill time
2 hours
Total time
Similar to my Chocolate Macaroon Truffles, but with a slight tart cherry flavour, hint of almond extract, and walnut crunch. To make the truffles, I soaked and blended dried tart cherries with a bit of sweetener (my immersion blender mini processor worked great for this) and folded it into the truffle mixture with a touch of almond extract. To dress them up for Valentine’s Day, roll the truffles in pink-dyed shredded coconut. Be sure to use a great tasting chocolate here for the best outcome.
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnut halves, finely chopped and toasted
- 1 cup dried tart cherries
- 2 tbsp agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1.5 cups of your favourite vegan chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk (use the cream from the top of the can)
- 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
- 12 drops red food colouring
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and toast the chopped walnuts for 12 minutes. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, soak the cherries in a bowl of water for about 10 minutes. Drain and add to food processor (or mini immersion processor like I used) along with 2 tbsp agave or other sweetener. Process until finely chopped.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring as necessary. Add in the coconut milk and stir well. Add toasted walnuts, cherry mixture, and almond extract. Stir again until combined. Now add the kosher salt to taste. The salt should give the sweetness a bit of a pop. Add a touch more sweetener if necessary to achieve your desired taste.
- Spoon the truffle mixture into a bowl and place in the freezer, uncovered, for 90 minutes, stirring every half hour. After 90 mins, stir again and transfer bowl to the fridge for another 20 minutes until chocolate is firm and workable.
- In a small bowl, mix together the coconut and food colouring until pink. When the truffle mixture is firm enough to handle, roll into small balls (you can use wet fingers if necessary- it will be very sticky!) and then roll into coconut mixture until you have about 23 balls. Store in an air-tight container in the freezer or fridge (they will become very soft at room temperature). They should keep for a couple weeks in the freezer in an air-tight container. I like to place mine in a baggy first, then in a container, to prevent freezer burn.
Pack them up in a heart-shaped tin and you have yourself a bite-sized Valentine’s Day gift.
No hemp seeds required.
They look delicious! I too LOVE almond extract; sometimes I will just open it and inhale.
Ahahaha! Rodent droppings. You crack me up.
In truth, everything looks delicious. I definitely want to make these, though I can’t remember ever having seen dried tart cherries before, but perhaps I wasn’t looking.
Just made your vegan and gluten free brownies last night but overbaked them a bit. So sad. :(
These my friend are gorgeous…so healthy and FUN!!
I have no idea what Bulk Barn is, but it sounds like a glorious place for me!! I love getting stuff for cheaper or finding fun little baking supplies :)
xxoo
What a cute post! These sound really good :)
These look delicious! Perfect for that someone special on valentines day!
Hi! These look fantastic. Do you think they’d be shelf-stable at room temperature for 2 days? I’d love to send some to my friend, but not if they wouldn’t be edible by the time she received them! Thanks for your blog, your recipes are fantastic.
Hmm good question! I really don’t think they would stay good for that long (due to the coconut milk going bad). They get quite soft at room temp unfortunately too.
I gotta say you always have the best food styling! That’s definitely an area I’m still working on and I admire well styled shots! Bellissima :)
Haha, you crack me up! I never would have thought of the droppings, but once you said it, I couldn’t stop giggling to myself. One of these days I will grow out of toilet jokes being funny. But not today.
On a different note, I can’t believe there were so few ingredients in a recipe that looks so sophisticated. Nice work!
~Emily~
You have given me the perfect idea for a v-day gifty for my guy! Thanks, as always, for your inspired ideas!
AWESOME! Can you suggest any “good quality” vegan chocolate chips?
Thank you
Im in love with these organic chips I buy from Ontario Natural Food Coop (its their brand), but it’s bought in bulk and you have to sign up for a membership to be able to buy from them. Probably not helpful I know!
I also like Cocoa Camino chocolate chips in the red bag but they are quite expensive :\
Angela, are these too labor intensive to make with children, you think? it could be fun to have a truffle making party, don’t you think!!!? like a cookie exchange, except crazier ;)
also, how would you use cinnamon in a truffle? will you make a recipe with some truffle dusted in cinnamon? :D
I think it would be fine with kids…although very messy!! The chocolate makes a big mess on the hands when shaping into balls and you have to keep dipping fingers in water.
so it’s a true “balls(truffleballs)-to-the-wall-exercise” if you end up making it a kid-friendly activity?! :D hey, sometimes those are just sO MUCH FUN when you get so messy and dirty with kitchen ingredient with kids! – definitely have to be not-so-neat-and-particular in the kitchen if you play with cocoa or flour or powdered sugar – or i guess anything baking hehe
LOL!
Is there really anything better than cherries and chocolate? Not in my world. I would say I am going to make these, but I don’t know if I can have enough will power to get myself to the truffle part. These look amazing and I just love the flavor profile. Thanks for posting this awesome recipe.
Eric’s job was to stir the chocolate while I was out and he said he almost ate the entire bowl! haha
That’s exactly what I want for V day!
Cherries + almond extract are a match made in heaven. I haven’t used cherries in a while, either, but now I’m dying for one of these truffles!
I think almost every dessert tastes best from the freezer, too. ;) (especially cookies and truffles!)
These look amazing!
Also, I have only recently discovered banana soft serve and it has changed my life. I’m thinking that banana soft serve + almond extract + cherries will be good too!
Oh that’s a great idea…I’ve used fresh cherries in BSS before but never with almond extract. yum
These look wayyy better than the Whitman’s sampler that the grocery stores always seem to pawn off haha.
My favourite flavour combo….so good!
Oh yum, I’ve made something sort of like these before, but never thought to use coconut milk. What a brilliant idea! I can’t wait to try these, especially for my lovely hubby for Valentine’s Day… if they last that long. I have a feeling these will become my little treat for myself instead of for him. Thanks for the great recipe Angela!
I just love how you wrapped them and how you navigated the pictures. So great. The recipe sounds delicious. :)
They look delicious! I had to laugh at the rodent dropping comment though, lol. Because I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t mentioned it :)
thats my job, getting you to think what I made is poo? heh