An easy 4-ingredient recipe for healthy dark chocolate truffles. Made with no heavy cream or refined sugar & just 21 calories!
Towards the end of the first quarter of my junior year of college, a friend approached me for help with studying for his upper division Organic Chemistry III final. Although we had been in the same classes for Parts I and II, he had a scheduling conflict with an engineering class during the previous spring quarter and postponed taking the last section.
Knowing the professor in charge of Part III that fall quarter and that person’s lackluster teaching style, I agreed and handed him my thick binder crammed full of notes, study guides, and practice exams. His eyes widened at the sight, but he eagerly took it and got to work.
At the end of finals week, as I cleaned my apartment and prepared to drive home for the holiday break, I heard a knock on my door. When I pulled it open, my friend stood on my welcome mat, holding my binder and a daintily wrapped white box. He gave them both to me, sharing that he earned an A on his final exam and passed the class, thanks to my detailed notes!
When I opened the box back inside my apartment, I nearly gasped… I found a dozen gourmet dark chocolate truffles as a thank you gift! He had picked them out from a specialty chocolate shop in town famous for its decadent handcrafted treats, and after reading the insert that described each truffle’s flavor, I slowly savored them over the next week.
Pure dark chocolate… Caramel… Chocolate chip… Cherry… Mint… Toasted almond… Walnut… Apricot… Coconut… Amaretto… Grand Mernier… Kahlua… To this day, I still haven’t found any specialty chocolate shop selling truffles that rival those!
Since I no longer live in that college town (and since my wallet and waistline can’t quite tolerate a daily gourmet truffle habit!), I whipped up these Healthy Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles for my family to enjoy on Valentine’s Day! With just 4 wholesome ingredients and no heavy cream or sugar, they’re really easy to make. Plus they’re only 21 calories!
You’ll start with unsweetened cocoa powder. Since you’re using a full cup and no melted chocolate (hooray for easy clean-up!), just regular ol’ unsweetened is fine! The truffles already taste really dark and rich without Dutched or special dark cocoa powder.
Make sure you measure the cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale! Too much cocoa powder will make the truffle mixture too dry to come together, and it’ll also make your truffles taste bitter. I highly recommend this kitchen scale that I own. It has been the best $20 that I’ve ever spent, and I use it to create every recipe that I share with you because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time.
Next, you’ll mix orange zest into the cocoa powder. Don’t skip the zest! It actually provides the majority of the orange flavor. Then comes orange juice and pure maple syrup for sweetness. That’s it—all 4 ingredients!
After chilling the mixture, you’ll roll it into spheres to form each truffle. The chocolate mixture tends to stick to your hands a bit, so wipe them off with a damp paper towel after shaping each truffle.
How easy and decadent is that? ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your truffles and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles | 4.7 from 12 reviews |
Yields: 16 truffles
These truffles are so easy to make and perfect for any dark chocolate lover! They’ll keep for at least 1 week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- 1 cup (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp orange zest
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 small)
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- Stir together the cocoa powder and orange zest in a small bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the orange juice and maple syrup. Stir until everything is completely incorporated. (It takes a bit of effort!) Chill the chocolate mixture for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling for longer than 2 hours, cover the top of the bowl. with foil or plastic wrap to prevent the chocolate mixture from drying out.)
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
- Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and roll it into 16 small spheres. After shaping each truffle, place it on the prepared baking sheet. Once all of the truffles have been formed, transfer them to an airtight container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes: It’s important to measure the cocoa powder with this method, the same way as with flour, or with a kitchen scale. (That's the one I own and love!) Too much cocoa powder will make the truffle mixture dry and bitter. The chocolate mixture requires quite a bit of stirring to fully incorporate all of the cocoa powder! If the cocoa powder hasn’t completely mixed into the other ingredients after a few minutes of stirring, add a tiny bit more orange juice, ½ teaspoon at a time, until the mixture comes together.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
For a sweeter flavor, substitute additional maple syrup for an equal amount of orange juice.
For a stronger orange flavor, increase the orange zest by an additional ½ to 1 teaspoon.
The chocolate mixture tends to stick to your hands a bit, so wipe off your hands with a damp paper towel after shaping each truffle.
Here is my video on how to make truffles! (It's located right above the recipe!)
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower carb}
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♥Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
