We were getting dangerously low in chocolate in our house, so I needed to make something. Needed. You see, I allow myself one piece of chocolate per day. Usually it’s my “dessert” at dinner. The caveat is that is has to be dark chocolate. Well, I guess it’s not a “caveat” when dark happens to be your favorite kind of chocolate. I usually like to indulge in Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares. My other favorite dark chocolates are Divine (70% or dark chocolate mint) and Trader Joe’s 72% dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is actually good for you. It is lower in sugar and boasts higher levels of antioxidants and flavenoids than its milk counterpart. Dark chocolate (in moderation!) can be a very healthy addition to your diet.
Well, “dangerously low” in our house means only four squares of Ghirardelli and one square of Trader Joe’s. I did have a bag of dark chocolate chocolate chips, so I thought I should make some sort of candy out of it. Just something small. Something low in sugar and that would make a nice after-dinner treat. I was craving something with coconut, and coconut and chocolate are one of my favorite combinations. Coconut truffles were born.
I thought about using coconut oil, like Elana’s Pantry, but decided cream cheese would be a better choice to reduce the amount of fat and calories overall. And I like the tang of the cream cheese. Kind of like a coconut cream cheese frosting, um, with chocolate, oh yeah…. I used as little sugar as possible. If you have fructose malabsorption, you can make these even lower in fructose by using dextrose instead of sugar and using the darkest chocolate you can find.
Each truffle has 126 calories, 10 g carbs, 10 g fat, 1 g protein, 7 g sugar. This is pretty darn amazing when you compare it to a recipe like Easter Eggs, over at allrecipes.com (half the calories and a third of the sugar per serving!). I think next time I will make these even smaller to reduce calories and sugar even more. Portion size is key to losing and maintaining weight!!!
Dark Chocolate Coconut Truffles
Low-Fructose, Not Low-FODMAP
makes about 20 truffles
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar or 1/4 cup dextrose
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
6 ounces dark chocolate (or 1 cup dark chocolate chips)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin coconut oil
Directions
- Beat the coconut, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and extract with a mixer until smooth. Roll into 1 1/2″ – balls and place on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Freeze for about one hour.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and coconut oil, while stirring constantly.
- Dip each coconut ball into the melted chocolate with a fork, covering the ball completely with chocolate, letting the excess drain through the fork tongs. Use a spoon to lightly push truffle off fork and back onto the wax paper.
- Refrigerate until set. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
