Banana Protein Truffles

“All that is gold does not glitter; all those who wander are not lost; the old that is strong does not wither; deep roots are not reached by frost.”

— J. R. R. Tolkien

New recipe of the new year and damn, it’s a winner!

I have been on SUCH a snack kick lately, I think that the holidays got the best of me. While balance is basically how I live my life, the past couple of weeks have been more cookies and chocolate, less veggies and hummus, and that is OKAY! That being said, my skin told me to chill a bit with the heaps of nuts, plantain chips and chocolate oranges as did my exhaustion, so I’m listening to both sides of my cravings with this recipe!

As we all know, chocolate anything is my love language, and add in some nut butter? SOLD! Straying away from the overdone protein balls, I wanted to introduce protein TRUFFLES - sounds so fancy doesn’t it?! The texture in these is much softer and less chalky, there’s no protein powder, no almond or coconut flour, nothing that will make you feel as though you need a gallon of water after each bite. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good protein ball, but, I don’t know, they feel very 2018 to me right now, and I’m trying to bring some excitement to 2021!

Mixing (or mash!) in chickpeas to these was a true game changer!! As we know, chickpeas + tahini = hummus (basically), so why not chickpeas + nut butter?! The same smooth texture, the same nonexistent flavor of chickpeas with whatever nut butter you want, some banana, some spice, some chocolate … HELLO to these soft and decadent snacks/desserts/whenever you want them pillows of YUM! I also realized that these can be baked if you want some melted chocolate in there, they can be rolled in crushed peanuts, in unsweetened coconut (seen below), drizzled with chocolate, the list goes on and on! They take about 10 minutes to whip up, if you don’t have a little babe running around, and they aren’t sickeningly sweet, either. The best of every single world!

Will these be a new staple in my snacking diet? Hell yes. Will they become a (hopeful) favorite of Oliver?! You bet! Simple, slightly sweet, packed with protein and healthy fats, unprocessed, homemade snack truffles - what a mouthful. The new year doesn’t exactly mean that things will be back to “normal” any time soon, but it does bring a sense of freshness, in whatever sense you’d like that to mean for yourself, and for me, it’s the excitement of new recipes, new milestones for O, and new oportunities!

ingredients

Banana—1 medium

Chickpeas—1-15.5 oz can

Nut Butter—3 oz, or 1/3 C

Honey—2.5 oz, or ¼ C

Vanilla—1 tsp

Salt—1 tsp

Cinnamon—1 tsp

Oats—3 oz, or ¾ C

Chocolate Chips—4 oz, or ½ C

Coconut—to coat

process

In a food processor or a large bowl, combine the banana, chickpeas, nut butter, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Blend/mash together.

Add in the oats and chocolate chips, blend until just mixed, making sure that there are still some full pieces of the oats. Great for texture!

Using a small scoop, or your hands, put the scooped truffles onto a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or a nonstick mat. If using your hands, the size is up to you, but about 2 tablespoons is great!

Once you have finished scooping the truffles, you have a few options: either roll them in coconut, crushed up nuts, a drizzle of chocolate, or you can bake them at 350˚F for about 12 minutes, just enough for the chocolate to melt!

If you are rolling in coconut, etc., afterwards, place in the fridge or freezer to firm up for about 30-60 minutes before storing them in an airtight container in the fridge!

Bon Appétit!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Truffles

Happy New Year, my friends!

I hope that everyone’s end of the year was as spectacular and restful as mine. A two-week break from work, spending some much needed time with my family in Maine, snuggling my two dogs, and ringing in the New Year with my fiancé, I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful vacation! Another plus? It snowed a lot while I was home! Well, one day and one blizzard, but enough for us to be stuck in the house for most of it! The dogs absolutely loved it (see Instagram) and it gave us all an excuse to lounge around for the day.

So, while Christmastime is by far one of my favorite times of the year, cue Michael Bublé and Elf and Gingerbread houses, I am pretty excited for 2016! I mean, I’m getting MARRIED this year!

What?!!?

Yes. Eight and a half months away!! You could say that I’m kinda sorta super duper excited about it!—even had my first dress fitting and met with our wedding cake maker over the holidays…which included over an hour of stuffing my face with multiple kinds of cake/buttercream/filling combos…

So 2016 is going to be amazing with just the wedding alone! What else is new about this year? Oh, well I started a KBB Dessert of the Month Club! (Inquire if interested!) Each month I’ll be sending out a lovely package full of homemade baked goodies, my own recipes, and many not posted to the website (just yet), but some will be—including the recipe below!

How did I decide to start the DOTM Club? While I believe that anyone can truly bake anything, posted on my site and others, sometimes you really just 1. Don’t have time, 2. Just aren’t too into baking, but love to eat desserts, or 3. Love to get yummy, homemade goodies sent to you! And so was born this fabulous little club.            (For January, I am sending out some to die for coconut macaroons as well as these simply delectable Oatmeal Raisin Truffles! )

To me, January is all about two things: getting back into your healthy habits (aka less gingerbread, more kale) and staying cozy while the temperature drops to -10˚F. The Oatmeal Raisin Truffles are more on the guilt free end of the spectrum of many of my desserts. They are bite size (so try and restrain yourself from eating the entire 4 dozen batch) and they are relatively low in the fat and sugar department, because, to bind properly, I’ve loaded them with a LOT of oats and a TON of raisins! And to finish, coating them in a dark chocolate is optional!

Yes, it’s cookie dough, yes it’s a dessert, but you really only need to eat 1, maybe 2, to feel satisfied! While this recipe may not be a beet-kale protein smoothie, it is a spice-packed, fiber-filled oatmeal raisin cookie truffle that’ll satisfy the start to your amazing 2016!

ingredients

Butter, room temperature—4 oz, or ½ C

Brown Sugar—5.25 oz, or ¾ C

Vanilla Extract—0.2 oz, or 1 tsp

Milk—2 oz, or ¼ C

Flour—4.25 oz, or 2/3 C

Salt—0.1 oz, or ½ tsp

Cinnamon—0.1 oz, or 1 tsp

Nutmeg—¼ tsp

Oats—6 oz, or 2 C

Raisins—4 oz, or ¾ C

Chocolate—8 oz

Butter—1 TBL

Sprinkles—optional

process

Cream together the butter and brown sugar.

Add the milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, oats and raisins.

Slowly add into your creamed mixture.

Once you have combined all of the ingredients, and a dough has formed, scoop out into whatever size truffle that you’d like.

You may either use a small scoop or a scale, like I prefer to do. I weigh each ball into 0.5 ounces, just the right size to pop into your mouth!

Place all of your scooped dough onto a sheet tray lined with parchment or a Silpat and put into the refrigerator to firm up, for about an hour.

When you’re ready to dip your truffles, make a double boiler using a medium sized pot filled with about an inch of water, and then a heat safe bowl on top. Make sure that the water is not directly touching the bottom of the bowl; you do not want to scorch your chocolate!

Turn the burner onto medium-low heat.

In the bowl, place your chocolate and butter, making sure to stir every few minutes so that the chocolate melts evenly.

Once melted, begin to dip your chilled cookie dough truffles.

You may either dip the entire ball, or just half, whatever you’d like!

I then put a little bit of sprinkles on top of each truffle before the chocolate sets, because, well, why not!

Allow the chocolate to firm up, and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!