Baking Obsession

This is, probably, the easiest sweet treat ever. There’s no chocolate in these things, but “truffles” sound so much more interesting than “balls”, so I decided to name them that. My apologies, if I confused and disappointed anyone.

They are also nut-, gluten-, and dairy- free, raw, and delicious.

Makes about 3 dozen if you don’t eat too much while making them.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fine dessicated coconut
• 1/3 cup coconut manna (not coconut oil), softened by placing a jar in warm water
• 1/3 cup sunflower butter (you can use any nut butter if you don;t have nut allergy)
• 1/4 cup raw creamy honey (sometimes I use half of honey and half of maple syrup)
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp natural coconut extract (optional, can be replaced by vanilla)
• pinch of sea salt

Preparation:

In a liquid measuring cup, combine the coconut manna, sunflower butter, honey, extracts, and salt. Stir to combine.

Place the coconut in a medium bowl, pour the liquid ingredients over and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is combined. Check the consistency of the mixture. It should be squeezable into balls. If the mixture seems to be dry, add a splash of maple syrup or another spoon of sunflower butter to make it stickier. On the other hand, if the mixture appears not stiff enough, add a bit more coconut. It’s a very forgiving recipe which is simply impossible to screw up.

Once you’ve mixed everything together and got the texture right, start forming the balls (or the truffles). The process is more of a squeezing rather than rolling in your palms. You should clean your hands time to time when the mixture clings excessively to your hands. You can also dampen the hands lightly to help with this sticking. To make the balls the same size you can use a small scoop for measuring.

Place the formed balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours to firm up. They can be kept in the fridge in an air-tight container for about a week or frozen for up to a month. Defrost in the refrigerator before serving.

If you make these treats for a person who suffers from a severe nut allergy, read the ingredient list on a sunflower butter jar carefully. There are a few manufacturers who make this particular kind of butter in nut-free facilities. The most common brand, as I notice, makes all kinds of nut/seed butter together at one place, and probably uses the same mill for grinding. The best way, especially if you aim to make the truffles raw, is to make the sunflower butter yourself.