Caramel Mounds Truffles

Has it been two months since I last posted?! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Blog readers, I'm so sorry I've been away for so long -- it wasn't intentional. I've been busy...not baking, haha. Let me explain.

I'm over half-way through my first pregnancy! With that said, my apetite and energy levels have been so low that it's been hard to cook or bake anything. In fact, I don't know how my husband survived to this point!

The very idea of baking or cooking anything (or even grocery shopping itself) made me nauseated. I had the best of intentions to post several recipes, but ALAS, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Although I took a significant step back in my blogging a few months ago, I really want to post once per month. It seems like a realistic standard, haha :-)

I actually first made this recipe in February, before I was pregnant. My mom loves chocolate and tries to eat gluten-free, so a truffle recipe was a no-brainer. (Pistachio is my favorite chocolate truffle flavor.) At first my goal was to make a samoa cookie-inspired truffle. When you combine cashew butter and maple syrup, you get an amazing caramel flavor! (This recipe doesn't have any refined sugar in it either, so there's less of a need to feel guilty.) In the end, this recipe tastes more like the best Mounds bar you've ever eaten!

While you're processing, if you feel like your mixture is too runny, add a little more dried coconut. Before you scoop the mixture into individual balls, pop the mixture into the freezer for 15 minutes; it will make things more scoopable. Add more coconut if it is still not solid enough. Make sure you pop them into the freezer again before dipping them in melted chocolate (and again after the chocolate too).

Caramel Mounds Truffles Recipe
10 medjool dates, pitted
6 T. pure maple syrup (more to taste)
a splash of vanilla
3 T. cashew butter
pinch of sea salt
3/4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 tsp. coconut oil

Directions
Combine the dates, syrup, cashew butter, coconut, vanilla, and salt in the food processor.  Puree until smooth. Give it a taste to see if you need more syrup or coconut. Pop the mixture in the freezer before scooping.

Scoop the batter into at least 12 balls. Freeze the balls before dipping them in chocolate. (Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in a double boiler and dunk each one). Place the truffles on a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer for a full half hour before serving them.

Enjoy these truffles and all of their creamy goodness!

Cheers!
-Aileen