Sesame Truffles
This is my final installment of the trufflemania series. At least for now.
These super nutritious little bites of sesame sweetness remind me of the halva I used to devour as a child. They’re easy to make, vegan, dairy-free and of course, gluten-free. Don’t let all those labels scare you though, more than anything else, they’re just plain old delicious.
½ cup cashews
¼ cup tahini (I used roasted, though raw will probably work just as well)
¼ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup sesame seeds (I used raw, though you could toast them for a stronger flavor)
- Place cashews in food processor and pulse until the texture of coarse sand
- Add tahini, agave and vanilla and pulse until smooth
- Transfer mixture from food processor to a bowl and refrigerate 2 hours
- Roll into 1 inch balls and coat with sesame seeds
- Serve
Makes 8 truffles
Several readers have commented that they will be making truffles or one of my other candy recipes as presents for the holidays this year. Adding a personal touch to your gifts by making things from scratch not only saves money, it offers the recipient something from the heart.
When I was a child I made cookies and candy for family friends, packed the treats in take out containers that I bought at the local Chinese restaurant and tied them with colorful ribbon on the handle. I had so much fun doing this every year.
What gifts are you thinking of making for the holidays?
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Subscribe by Email to elanaspantry.com:Posted on November 7, 2008 in desserts by Elana
you might also like: Chocolate Orange Truffles
or Chocolate Prune Truffles
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INCREDIBLE truffles!!
For the holidays, I’ll be baking my “famous” gluten-free pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and homemade cranberry sauce :-)
November 7th, 2008 7:53 pm
Elana,
Its funny you posted this… I was thinking last night about your truffle series and I was toying with the idea of cooking the almond butter/agave mixture down a little more (from the turtle recipe) and scooping and forming it into small balls with a cashew or hazelnut in the middle and coating them in chocolate and more chopped nuts. These all sound GREAT and I am thinking of making an assortment for Thanksgiving to give the dessert selection a little healthy twist! Thanks for all the recipes and the ideas!
November 7th, 2008 8:51 pm
Nice photographs, this must be delicious. A different way to make truffles.
I will try some of your recipes for sure, I´ve been diving in you blog and I find some of them really interesting.
Congratulations for your blog
November 8th, 2008 2:09 am
Beautiful picture! I’m going to make candies and wrap them in beautiful bags, add some dessert wine and put it all in a beautiful basket with some of my favorite dessert recipes. I can’t wait to get started.
November 8th, 2008 11:55 am
These look and sound deliscious, I think I need to try them!
November 8th, 2008 4:33 pm
Hi Elana - This recipe got me thinking. A few months ago I bought Ani Phyo’s raw foods cookbook. In it she mentions that she always soaks nuts and seeds before using b/c it helps them become more digestible and makes their nutrients more available to us. I know you recommend soaking in your cashew milk recipe (which is now a staple of my fridge) - I wonder if you do the same with all your recipes and what you think about this issue.
As for gift-making…last year I broke the chain of evil (I’m exaggerating) and made my stocking stuffers instead of buying them for my in-laws. The women got a jar of salt scrub and the guys got bookmarks.
I haven’t decided what to do this year - I’d love to hear more readers’ ideas. Thanks.
November 8th, 2008 6:48 pm
Elana, just the ingredients that I love to use! And since they remind of halva, which I love, I will so make these!!
November 10th, 2008 7:00 am
VeggieGirl -Thanks for your comment; your holiday baking sounds fabulous.
Chrissy -You are very welcome!
cdecocina -Thanks for your comment.
Hannah -That sounds like some great holiday fun!
Trish -Thanks, let me know how you like them :-)
Jessica -In terms of the nut soaking issue, I do soak/dehydrate whenever I have the time. I like the taste of the soaked/dehydrated nuts and I agree with the theory that they have more live enzymes in them that are more bioavailable when this process in undertaken. However, I’m not at all dogmatic about this issue. Sometimes I toast nuts in the oven at 350° as I really like the flavor of roasted nuts. I approach every recipe differently depending on my mood, the time of day and the weather –so in answer to your question, no, I don’t soak nuts for every recipe. Love your stocking stuffer ideas!
yaelian -Thanks and I hope you enjoy them.
November 10th, 2008 11:04 am
mm, these look delicious! I have been obsessed with sesame seeds lately so I might need to give these a try.
As for baking, still not sure. Since I have family spread far and wide, hopefully things that will ship well!
November 10th, 2008 3:39 pm
These sound absolutely divine… and so easy! I’m absolutely going to make these, thanks :)
November 10th, 2008 11:56 pm
Cakespy -I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.
Foodeater -Thanks!
November 11th, 2008 11:38 am
I am making this killer recipe for Mexican Chocolate Bark. My batch will be dairy/gluten free of course, but I can’t afford to make everyone’s DF, so they get the regular old recipe. But seriously, this is so yummy! I love the idea of the chinese take out boxes! I might have to steal that :)
http://nograinnopain.blogspot.com/2008/10/mexican-chocolate-cake-fiasco-with.html
November 15th, 2008 11:33 pm
Stephanie,
That sounds delicious and thanks for the link to your site.
Enjoy the take out containers! They’re fun and easy.
Elana
November 18th, 2008 11:18 am
Elana,
tried the choc prune truffles and the sesame truffles today. Used brewed chai tea with a bit of agave (just the tea, not the milk, sugar, etc.) as the liquid, and added in a few more spices such as cardamom, cinnamon and a pinch of chile. They are fabulous tasting but so soft. I’m worried that too long out of the fridge and they’ll be gloppy. The seseme truffles are also a success — so delicious. I wanted to tell you I added a bit of lemon zest and sea salt, which added a little zing to them. Thanks again,
December 7th, 2008 1:45 pm
Penny,
Great additions to the prune truffles, however if you are going to add more liquid ingredients (tea and agave) then they will definitely get gloppy unless you also increase the dry ingredients as well. Good luck in your experiments!
Elana
December 8th, 2008 5:31 pm
Hi Elana:
I made these truffles today and they are incredible. They are the best thing I’ve eaten in the last seven months since becoming a gluten-free vegan.
Thanks so much for the recipe. So yummy!
Now I’m going to make the orange chocolate truffles.
December 22nd, 2008 2:50 pm
Nicole,
Glad to hear you liked this. You are very welcome.
Elana
December 22nd, 2008 4:15 pm