Nothing quite says indulgence like a sinful little dark chocolate truffle. On the other hand, nothing says health nut like raw cacao powder, organic coconut oil, and hazelnuts.

I’m on the health nut side, in case you were wondering.

Today, those opposing teams are joining forces to create (faux) indulgent chocolate truffles made with simple, whole foods. Obviously, these little guys taste amazing.

It just feels oh so good to create a recipe that is tastier, more delicious, and absolutely way better than the original store-bought processed version. Take for example our trusty truffles; they’re usually made with refined sugars, artificial flavors, and soya lecithin too. Is soya lecithin produced by the earth? No? Don’t eat it.

These Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles are made from wholesome ingredients and don’t contain anything shady and unpronounceable. They’re the perfect indulgent treat and dose you up on all kinds of goodness as well. Hazelnuts are made up of certain antioxidants called flavonoids that may support brain health and circulation. They’re also packed with protein and provide your body with nourishing fats like oleic acid, which is known to lower levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, and bump of the levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. Mejdool dates are nature’s candy, and opposed to sending your blood sugar into overdrive like normal sugar, digest in your body simply and easily, without any spikes. Plus, dates make our truffles super sweet, sticky, and create a soft truffle like center. Cacao powder boosts the antioxidant content in our truffles while adding the best chocolate flavor, coconut oil provides beneficial fats, and almond butter and pecans add more protein and polyunsaturated fat benefits. You won’t believe how these simple, plant-based ingredients can work together to create something so rich and divine.

Team Health Nut all the way. Who’s with me?

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

Makes 24 truffles

½ cup hazelnuts
½ cup pecans
16-20 Mejdool dates (depending on the stickiness level. Start with 16 dates or so, and add more to make paste stickier if needed)
1 big T almond butter
1 T coconut oil
3 T raw cacao powder

In a food processor add hazelnuts and pecans and pulse until completely processed. Add in dates, almond butter, coconut oil, and cacao powder and process for about a minute, until mixture becomes sticky. Using your hands, roll sticky batter into little balls and set on parchment paper. If you’d like, dust balls lightly* in cacao powder or roll in chopped hazelnuts. Store in the refrigerator or freezer and enjoy!

Truffle balls will keep for about 2 weeks in an airtight container (longer in the freezer)…If they last that long!

*If you’d like you can lightly sprinkle a bit of raw cacao powder onto your truffles, but use a light hand! Raw cacao has a very bitter taste that can overwhelm the taste of your truffles if you use too much on the exterior. You could also try a pinch of cinnamon, cocoa powder, coconut, or skip this step all together!