Crunchy Raspberry Truffles

            Don’t announce it, but these are vegan, gluten and nut free; no one will guess if you don’t tell. My family has both nut allergies and lactose intolerance, so we need a few of these recipes in our collection if only to avoid having to make multiple versions of dishes! Of course, you can also substitute heavy cream for the coconut milk, and butter for the vegan butter. These are really pretty with the raspberry coating, but you can also roll in traditional coverings of cocoa powder, confectioner’s sugar, pulverized coconut, or finely chopped nuts.

Sweet ingredients, vegan (or traditional)

12 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate

6 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk (or heavy cream)

1 tsp. espresso powder

3 tbsp. vegan butter substitute, room temperature (or butter)

1 cup crunchy rice cereal (or nuts)

Pulverized freeze-dried raspberries for rolling

Cut up chocolate into small shards. Place coconut milk and espresso powder on medium and heat just to boiling. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes. Gently mix the melting chocolate into the milk until you see no more lumps. Add the butter substitute in little dollops, and make sure it is well incorporated. Gently mix in the rice cereal. You can use either the “Rice Krispie” type of cereal, or the Chex style that you have broken up with a wooden spoon, either works and stays crunchy. I have made them with a cinnamon-flavored cereal as well, and they were delicious!

Take a rest, but not too long

Place in a shallow dish and refrigerate for about a half hour. Once firmed up, but not rock hard, use a two-tablespoon ice cream scoop, or a sturdy tablespoon heaped, to dig out the chocolate and roll into a ball. Place on parchment or wax paper until you have used all the chocolate.

To make these pretty pink, roll in pulverized freeze-dried raspberries. I simply used my mini-food processor. Place in mini-cupcake papers, and refrigerate another hour or so, until nice and firm. They can then be removed from the refrigerator.

Serve at room temperature. This makes about 32 rich truffles that everyone can enjoy.