Raw Vegan Cacao Truffles + My Parents Fell In Love At First Sight

raw vegan cocoa truffles

When I was growing up, it was common knowledge that my mom and dad fell in love at first sight.

Here’s the scene:

It was the summer of 1975 and the place was Kittredge, Colorado.

My mom was in her apartment and she had just gotten out of the shower.

My dad was looking to rent a unit in the same complex as my mom.

The landlord didn’t show up to let my dad into the building, so he knocked on my mom’s door (why he did that, I don’t know).

Because she had just gotten out of the shower, she came to the door with wet hair and nothing but a towel wrapped around her (I swear this isn’t going to turn into porn. OMG I did it. I used the word “porn” and “my parents” in the same post. Yuck).

My mom’s door opened and they locked eyes. My mom in her towel (she says it was a “bath sheet” whatever that is, but dad says it was a “towel”) and wet hair and my dad – shirtless, tanned and flowing blonde hair.

They stood there, gazing at each other for what seemed like eternity, both smitten and completely in love with one another, having never said a word.

After they stopped drooling at each other, my mom got dressed and promptly crawled through a window in his apartment unit and unlocked the door for him (I guess she wanted to be his neighbor). They’ve been in love ever since.

My parent’s story is the stuff that movies are made of and it warms my heart to know that stories like theirs exist. Today I’m giving you a raw vegan cacao truffles recipe below so you can make it and impress your honey.

Circa 1976
Mom and dad circa 1976
Circa 2013
Circa 2013
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Circa 2013

Here’s the raw vegan cacao truffles recipe for you to share with your sweetie (or make it for yourself if you’re flyin’ solo this year!).  I gave my dad this recipe last week and he made them for my mom. If he can do it, than you can do it (trust me. The man’s specialty is toast).

Make it with love and it’ll taste even sweeter (because food made with love tastes better and if you don’t believe me, read Like Water for Chocolate. Actually, you should read Like Water for Chocolate anyway, because that book is awesome).

raw vegan truffles

Raw Vegan Cacao Truffles

(makes 13-15 / vegan / gluten free / soy free/ nut free)
Author: Molly Patrick

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup tahini
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 6 dates pitted and soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
  • cup raw cacao powder
  • ¼ cup hemp seeds
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients in a food processor and process for 1-2 minutes, until everything is completely combined.
  • Place mixture in a bowl and scoop out, 1 tablespoon at a time and roll into balls. Continue until all of the mixture has been rolled into balls (roll each ball between your palms for 10-15 seconds so that the balls are round and uniform).
  • You can either leave them like this (they are super yummy plain) or you can coat them in sugar (as pictured). To do this, place some sugar on a plate and roll the truffles in sugar until they are coated evenly.
  • Place truffles in the refrigerator and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  • Keep truffles in the fridge or freezer.
raw vegan truffles

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16 Comments

  1. Viv on January 31, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    What a beautiful story!! Your parents still look the same and so much in love! Oh, I love your blog. Definitely trying this truffle recipe. Have a great weekend!

    • Molly Patrick on January 31, 2014 at 6:49 pm

      @Viv – Thank you so much! Have a great weekend as well and let me know how the truffles turn out! xo

  2. Raw Yoga on February 10, 2014 at 8:12 pm

    Love it!! Very inspiring story- thank you! Creating new and interesting truffles is one of my many passions. I will definitely try the recipe.

    • Molly Patrick on February 11, 2014 at 7:52 am

      Awesome – come back and let us know how they turn out!

  3. karen on March 5, 2014 at 1:55 am

    Your parents are beautiful. Love your site.

    • Molly Patrick on March 5, 2014 at 11:27 am

      Thank you! xo

  4. Vegan Gammie Annie on March 30, 2014 at 7:12 am

    Here comes Easter and the Easter Bunny. I will definitely try out these tasty looking Truffles. Thanks!

    • Molly Patrick on March 30, 2014 at 5:44 pm

      let us know how they turn out!

  5. Sharon on July 10, 2014 at 12:01 pm

    I don’t know about the truffles but I love your parents story and I’m so happy you added their pictures, then and now!!

  6. Wendy on September 18, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    Truffles were a little too big. They were good. Tasted a little like peanut butter. Was hoping for more chocolate flavor. ?

  7. Alison on April 5, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    These were really good. I didn’t coat in sugar, but they were good anyway.

  8. Mik on February 18, 2018 at 6:29 am

    Beautiful. Story and parents. You are lucky. On my way to make truffles.

    • Molly Patrick on February 18, 2018 at 9:26 am

      I am so lucky. I am grateful every single say.
      Have fun with the truffles!
      xo
      Molly

  9. Valerie Christopherson on October 1, 2020 at 9:50 pm

    Just read this post as I was looking around for dessert recipes. What an awesome story! And your parents are beautiful people and clearly still in love. I make a similar truffle recipe but I soop mine up by adding cacao nibs, and goji berries into the mixture, then roll them around in hemp seeds. I make a double batch and toss them into the freezer. They are my go to dessert or snack when I’m feeling like I need something sweet. They are so satisfying they keep me away from other sugary not good for me treats.

  10. Maggy Charles on February 22, 2021 at 8:59 pm

    Awww… lovely story about your parents!! My 22 year old daughter is a vegan for a few years was diagnosed last June with an autoimmune disorder and she now cannot have ANY processed foods (any kind of sugar, flour, oil). In this recipe above it calls for maple syrup, can that be substituted with more dates or something else that is not processed?

    Being a vegan was tough enough (both my daughters, son-in-law and myself are vegans), but now for my youngest daughter it is near impossible to go to a restaurant and find a dish that doesn’t have oil and/or sugar. We are working on increasing our repertoire of dishes we can make at home. I’m really looking forward to seeing what else you might have.

    • Team Clean Food Dirty Girl - Karen on February 23, 2021 at 8:29 am

      Hi Maggy – Thanks for stopping by, we are glad you found us! On this recipe, you can omit the maple syrup altogether – the recipe is forgiving. You could add some of the date soak water to give some moisture and sweetness that the maple syrup would add – but I would only add a teaspoon or two to not make them overly wet. Let us know how they turn out if you try them without the maple syrup.

      We feel you on the restaurant challenges and hope your daughter is finding the dietary changes are helpful.

      As far as CFDG, our magic is our meal plans that can support you to increase your home repertoire of recipes and skills. Our Plant Fueled Meal Plans are designed to guide the preparation of five nightly meals. The recipes are scalable, so it’s possible to make more or less if you want leftovers or are cooking for a special meal, or less if you are having a busy week and want to make only a few meals. In addition to our gourmet Meal Plans, our Meal Plans subscribers also now receive a simple Meal Plan option each week that is less of a time commitment.

      Check out our free Trial Meal Plan to get an idea of how our plans work and how they might be able to help you. You can request the Trial plan over here (scroll down until you see “Free Trial Meal Plan” with an orange “Unlock Access” button and click that). The plan was originally released as a subscriber meal plan called #TakeOut. #Trial plan doesn’t expire, so if you request it and just aren’t ready to tackle a full meal plan yet, you can come back when you are. We do not ask for a credit card to request the #Trial plan.

      Reach out to us at [email protected] if we can answer other questions about the plans! ~Karen

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