I absolutely adore cooking. I make Sasha dinner from scratch every single night. Since I’m a vegetarian and he’s not (except for Meatless Mondays), I’ll make the same dish for us, but add chicken, shrimp or salmon to the top of his meal, which makes life much easier. While I’m not a vegan, I don’t eat eggs, so baking has never, ever brought joy to my life like cooking has. I recently stumbled upon Sprouted Kitchen, the most amazing food blog ever, and found a host of amazing meatless recipes and eggless desserts. I am thrilled. The Almond Date Truffles, shown below will definitely be my first trial.

Almond Date Truffles  // Makes 18

• 20 Medjool dates, seeded and halved (plump and slightly glossy)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup creamy almond butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. natural cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup toasted almonds, well chopped

Put the dates and vanilla in a food processor and run until a chunky paste forms. Add the almond butter and pulse a few more times. Add the coconut, cocoa powder, salt and cinnamon and pulse a few more times. The mixture should be a tad crumbly, but press between your fingers and stick together. If it seems too wet to hold in a ball, add more coconut, if too dry, add a touch more almond butter or a splash of water.

Roll a heaping Tbsp. of the mixture between your palms to form a ball. Repeat with remaining mixture. Put your chopped almonds on a plate and roll each truffle in the almonds (apply a bit of pressure to get them to adhere). Place the plate in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. Truffles will keep covered in the fridge for a couple weeks.

Recipe and pictures via Sprouted Kitchen