This recipe is dedicated to my friend who is forced to live her life without the benefit of gluten or dairy. I don’t know how she does it, but she definitely deserves a treat!

These little chocolate morsels are not a substitute for “real truffles”, they are delicious in their own right. They are soft and chocolaty and the roasted almonds perfectly offset their sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cashews (not roasted)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 mejdool dates, pitted
• 2 tbsp almond butter

Directions:

1. Soak cashews (1/2 cup) in boiling water (1 cup) for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees f
3. Roast almonds in oven for 6 minutes, shaking halfway through
4. Let almonds cool and place in food processor, pulse until broken up into pieces smaller than a grain of rice – set aside
5. Drain cashews and place in food processor along with cocoa powder (1/2 cup), salt (1/4 tsp), dates (8) and almond butter (2 tbsp)
6. Process in food processor until forms a thick, dough-like consistency, add water 1 tsp at a time if needed
7. Roll the date mixture into balls, and then roll each ball in the ground roasted almonds
8. Store in the fridge until ready to serve

Notes:

• This is the almond version, but you can also substitute peanut butter and ground peanuts and you will not be sad about that decision
• Don’t worry if these seem quite soft at first, they will firm up in the fridge