These are very rich and fill the need for any holiday fudge nostalgia. The chocolate part is pretty satisfying on its own and makes about twice the yield without the cherries. It is important to use nice soft dates for this, if yours are hard try soaking them in a bowl of water for an hour or so and they should soften up. Also, the cherries need to be firmly together, if you do not have a pitter then I recommend just leaving them whole and warning anyone who eats one not to swallow the pit.
Coco Cacao Buried Cherries
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 9-10 pieces
INGREDIENTS:
- 9-10 cherries pitted
- ¾ cup raw cacao
- ½ cup medjool dates (about 12)
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (at room temperature so its soft)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- unsweetened dessicated coconut for coating
DIRECTIONS:
- Mash up the dates then add in the honey, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla until it forms a paste. A food processor or hand held mixer work especially well for this step. Mix in the cacao and cinnamon until it is thoroughly blended and there are no lumps. Take a large spoonful of the dough and roll it into a ball with your palms then flatten it down like a pancake, put the cherry in the middle and fold up the sides so that they cover the cherry, roll again between your palms to form an even circle. Drop and roll around a shallow plate filled with the dessicated coconut until evenly coated. Set in the fridge for 10 minutes or more so that the chocolate coating firms up a bit. They can be stored in the fridge for a few days and the freezer for a few weeks.
Oh my gosh! This looks SO GOOD! I may give this a try!
Thanks B, I think you’d like them 🙂