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| Diana Saker |
My long-time buddy, Diana Saker, and her neighbors host an
annual Christmas ornament- cookie exchange extravaganza. Unfortunately Diana has an intolerance to wheat products, so I try to make flourless sweets
that she could eat and enjoy. I know Diana is a huge fan of hummus, so I
narrowed my search for tahini-based delights. (Last year I made tahini cookies,
but this time around I was looking for something a bit more sinful.)
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| Tahini-Chocolate Truffles |
I came across a sweet treat – more of a candy than a
cookie, actually – called chocolate tahini truffles. I first saw this recipe on
The Art of Armenian and Middle Eastern Cooking’s Facebook page; they found the
recipe by way of Anja’s Food for Thought website, and best of all… no baking
required!
The original recipe called for raisins, dates and agave
syrup which I did not have on hand, so I substituted those with things stocked in
my pantry – currants, dried plums and tamarind syrup. I crossed my fingers and
hoped for the best.
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| The ingredients I used |
Here’s my version of Tahini-Chocolate Truffles
Yield: approximately 24 pieces, depending on size
2 cups tahini, (sesame seed paste) well-stirred
3/4 cup currants, plumped in warm water and drained
1/2 cup dried
plums, finely diced
1 tablespoon unsweetened
cocoa powder
Tamarind syrup
(optional)
1. Combine tahini,
currants, dried plums and cocoa powder in a food processor and blend until
smooth. If the mixture is too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time. You
should end up with a workable, not too sticky, ball. Taste mixture for
sweetness. If desired, add tamarind syrup to taste. (NOTE: The currants
and plums aren’t as sweet as raisins and dates, so I added about 1 Tbsp. of the
tamarind syrup.)
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| Uncoated truffles (Step #2) |
2. Roll mixture into
balls, about ¾ – inch to 1 – inch each.
(My suggestion:
these are quite rich, so smaller is better!)
ball completely with the chopped nuts. (Anja also suggests coating these with
coconut, sesame seeds or ground pistachio nuts.)
4. Place coated truffles in a single layer on a
parchment-lined tray and refrigerate until firm- about 1 hour – before serving.
the rich, decadent goodness!
6. Storage: These keep well in the refrigerator in a tightly
covered container.
Diana’s unbiased evaluation: The tahini-chocolate truffle is very rich (have a beverage nearby!). It’s
not as sweet as one would expect a truffle to be. It’s got an earthy flavor from
the tahini – not quite savory; not quite sweet. It has a delicious flavor that
stands alone. A real keeper!!
This looks amazing. Can't wait to try it!
Hrag, these are really rich and extremely yummy. The amount of sweetness depends entirely on the type and amount of dried fruit you add.
I hope you'll enjoy them!