Satisfy Cravings with a Healthy Treat
If you’re trying to eliminate desserts from a diet, it’s not an easy task for those with a sweet tooth. To those snacking on a handful of chocolate chips at midnight, I see and hear you. For fellow chocolate lovers, this time of year is incredibly tempting. Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter candy are all marketed with almost no gap in between. Grocery stores flood aisles with boxes of chocolates and sweets, and it can be hard to leave without a treat in your bag. If you want a treat that will satisfy a chocolate craving while lowering the sugar content and artificial ingredients, avocado truffles could be your next midnight snack!
Yes, Avocado Truffles. You Read That Right
When thinking about chocolate truffles, chances are avocado won’t come to mind as an ingredient. While they’re a core ingredient in guacamole, avocados don’t exactly scream dessert. Avocado is a strong flavor on its own, but when mixed with the right amount of chocolate, cacao dominates your pallet. The result is a decadent truffle with a smooth texture and nutty undertones. If you wish to create a healthier dessert, avocados are a healthy swap for heavy cream or condensed milk!
What do Avocado Truffles Taste Like?
Dark chocolate is one of my favorite ingredients to work with in recipes. The bitterness balances sweets well, and dark chocolate packs antioxidants in each serving. So it’s no wonder that February is national dark chocolate month! Avocado truffles balance the bitterness of cocoa and dark chocolate with the nuttiness of avocado. The avocado also provides a creamy texture and binding agent for the truffle. The truffles are rolled in melted chocolate to create a shell and topped with pistachio crumbs. The ingredients melt to create an explosion of chocolate in your mouth that is slightly nutty, with a touch of salt from the pistachio.
Are Avocado Truffles Keto Friendly?
Depending on your ingredients, you can make this recipe with a keto diet in mind. For example, if you are eliminating sugar, you can use sugar-free chocolate and leave the maple syrup out. This recipe is also gluten and, with the right chocolate, dairy-friendly. Dark chocolate is deceiving because milk isn’t in the name unlike milk chocolate. If you have a dairy allergy or are making this recipe for someone with an allergy, always check the ingredients for milk or dairy products. Flaxseeds help provide the truffles but do not contain gluten. With the benefit of avocado providing silky smoothness to the truffles, no heavy cream is needed. Avocado truffles are a healthy dessert that you can enjoy across various dietary plans and restrictions.
The Ingredients Inside
Avocado creates a silky texture and adds richness to the truffles. Select avocados that are slightly soft to the touch but not overly ripe. You should be able to lightly squeeze the avocado without leaving an impression on the skin. Before cutting avocados, remove and discard the stem. This helps eliminate any stems potentially mixing into truffles.
I use a local maple syrup produced by Ben’s Sugar Shack to add a touch of sweetness. Ben’s Sugar Shack sells maple syrup, honey, and a variety of candies. The quality and flavor of Ben’s products have always been consistent, and the prices are on par with local and national products.
The final three ingredients are cocoa powder, milled flaxseed, and vanilla extract. The cocoa powder and flaxseed act as additional binders to hold the truffle shape, and the cocoa provides extra flavor. Both flaxseed and cocoa powder also provides antioxidants. The vanilla extract adds a subtle boost of flavor to the truffles.
Avocado Truffles
Ingredients
- 2 avocados soft to the touch
- 16 oz. Ghirardelli
® Dark Chocolate , divided - 3 Tbsp. Milled flaxseed
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup pistachios, chopped
Instructions
- Combine the avocados, cocoa powder, and flaxseed in a mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix at low speed until smooth and free of clumps with a paddle attachment. Set aside.
- Chop the chocolate into fine chunks. Once chopped, melt half of the chocolate (8 ounces) either using a double boiler or a microwave.
- If melting with a microwave, place the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in fifteen or 30-second intervals, stirring in between heatings.
- If melting with a double boiler, fill the base pot with an inch of water. Place the pot on a stovetop over medium heat. While the water heats, add the chocolate to the top boiler. Once the water begins to steam, place the boiler on top of the pot. Stir the chocolate every thirty seconds until melted.
- Add the chocolate, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Scrape the edge of the bowl and fold the mixture to mix. Once evenly mixed, chill in the fridge for a half-hour.
- Once the batter has chilled, roll the mixture between your hands into one-inch balls and transfer them to a plate.
- Once all of the truffles are rolled and prepared, melt the remaining chocolate.
- Coat the truffles one at a time in the chocolate. Flip the truffle with a spoon to evenly coat.
- Transfer the truffles to a tray lined with parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle the top with chopped pistachio. Repeat with the remaining truffles.
- Once the truffles have been coated and sprinkled with pistachio crumbs, chill them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Storage and Recipe Tips
You can store avocado truffles refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to seven days. The truffles can store sealed for up to three months in the freezer for extended storage. If you have avocado truffles that are frozen, be sure to let them rest at room temperature for at least ten minutes to soften. If eaten within minutes of removal from the freezer, the frozen chocolate is too dense and could lead to a chipped tooth!
If you would like to lower the sugar content, these truffles hold their shape even without the chocolate coating. If you still want to incorporate the pistachios, you can mix the ground pistachios directly into the truffles or roll the truffles in the crumbs once formed. A low-sugar alternative to dark chocolate to coat the truffles is a dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder.