Making sweet dishes isn’t that simple in our home. Although I love all types of sweet things, mainly the chocolaty ones, my partner is extra picky when it comes to sweets. I usually go back to the same old cookies that were tried successfully or to the cheese cake that somehow passed the impossibly high bar. But sometimes I do want to explore and try new sweet things so usually they’ll be small and easy, so it will make sense to make them just for myself.

I firstly encountered the following recipe in some comment in Facebook but since I’ve seen it all over the net in various blogs and pages (here for example). It is practically based on two ingredients – chocolate and some fatty ingredient like tahinni, peanut butter or even almond butter. It might even work with other “butters” made from nuts or with coconut oil. This simple combination of two ingredients magically creates impressive and tasty truffles with just 5 minutes work.

There are infinite variations to this recipe, you can keep it simple and not add anything or add any type of spice you like and/or any type of nuts, whole or chopped. It can be coated with coconut shavings or cocoa powder if you want the sophisticated look. Details and some more ideas below.

The truffles are stored in the freezer, a fact that allows you to prepare a large amount in advance and eat whenever you feel like it or serve for surprise guests.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Time in the freezer: 1-2 hours

Ingredients (30-35 small truffles)

For the truffles:

• 100 gr dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup raw tahini or peanut butter or almond butter
• pinch of salt (optional)

Optional additions:

• 1/4 cup chopped almonds/peanuts/pecans/walnuts/pistachios (raw or roasted)
• a pinch of cinnamon/cardamon/nutmeg/cloves/allspice powder
• chili flakes
• 1 tbs grated ginger

Optional topping:

• 1 tbs chopped almonds/peanuts/pecans/walnuts/pistachios (raw or roasted)
• 1 tbs sesame seeds (raw or roasted)
• 1 tbs sunflower seeds
• 1 tbs coconut shavings
• 1 tbs cocoa powder

Directions

Melt the chocolate in a microwave. I do that in 3 or 4 times 20 seconds and mix in between. You can also melt it using a bain marie (in a bowel over a pan with boiling water).

Add the tahini / peanut butter / almond butter to the melted chocolate along with a pinch of salt and mix well.

And now for the spices! you can skip this stage but if you want to create you own variation now is the time to add a pinch of one or more of the following – cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon powder, grated ginger, chili flakes, allspice powder etc.

Another option is adding a 1/4 cup of chopped nuts such as pecans, pistachios, almonds etc. and mix them with the chocolate. This way you’ll get a crunchier truffles.

And now, after you thought about all the possible variations and chose to be lazy like me and keep it simple, pass the chocolate mixture to a small container (it should be smaller then the original chocolate slab) that can be kept in the freezer.

It is possible to add some topping at this stage – if you didn’t put any nuts in the mixture itself you can sprinkle them on top in a smaller amount (1 tbs instead of 1/4 cup). I usually choose this options since this way you get both the soft chocolaty texture and the nice and tasty garnish on top. Possible topping are sunflower seeds, sesame and coconut. If you want the impressive look the most elegant option is coating with chocolate powder but for this we’ll wait until the chocolate will rest for a little while in the freezer.

Cover the container and place it in the freezer for 1-2 hours at least. Take it out and cut into cubes. If you used tahini you can take it out and cut immediately. If you used peanut butter or almond butter take it out and let it warm up on the counter for 10-15 minutes before cutting it.

If you chose to coat with cocoa powder place 1 tbs of cocoa powder in a small bowl and roll the cubes in the powder from all sides. Save in the freezer. The tahini based truffles can be served directly from the freezer while those based on peanut/almond butter should be taken out 10-15 minutes before serving.

Comments and suggestions

Which butter/tahini should I use? you can use both regular and whole raw tahini and the tahini based truffles will have a halva taste. Regarding the peanut butter, I prefer to use the natural peanut butter in this recipe (not Skippy). If you want a neutral taste use almond butter.

And what about the chocolate? any dark chocolate will do great here. I use the simplest one and it turns out great.

But wait a minutes, what spice should I use?! it is definitely up to you and your own unique taste. I like the simple version without any additions and with a generous pinch of salt, or adding just a little bit of cardamon powder. Found a genius combination of spices and toppings? please share with everyone in the comments section.

In short

Melt 100 gr dark chocolate in the microwave (3 or 4 times of 20 seconds each) or in a bain marie. Add 1/2 cup tahini or peanut butter of almond butter and a pinch of salt. Pass into a small container, cover and keep in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Take out and cut into cubes. If you used peanut/almond butter let it warm up on the counter for 10-15 minutes before cutting. Serve immediately or store in the freeze.

It is possible to add a pinch of any spice and/or 1/4 cup of chopped nuts of any type to the mixture before freezing it. It is also possible to sprinkle 1 tbs of chopped nuts, coconut, sesame etc. on top before freezing. After freezing and cutting into cubes you can roll it in cocoa powder.