Cherrylicious Choccy Bites

• Dairy-free chocolate, fruit and nut truffles.
• Sweetened naturally and with a little fruit syrup.
• Makes enough for 14 bite-sized balls.

Organic Ground Almonds (1kg) - Sussex WholeFoods

80g Ground Almonds - 60g for the Cherry-Cranberry mix; 20g for the chocolate filling

Unsalted Pistachios (250g) - Sussex WholeFoods

50g Pistachios

Dried Cranberries 500g (Sussex Wholefoods)

100g Cranberries, plus extra to place inside the truffles.

Freeze Dried Sliced Cherry 100g (Healthy Supplies)

20g Freeze Dried Cherry

Organic Sunflower Seeds (1kg) - Sussex WholeFoods

10g Sunflower Seeds

Sweet Freedom Fruit Syrup 350g

7 Tbsp Sweet Freedom – 3 Tbsp for Cherry-Cranberry Mix; 4 Tbsp for the Chocolate filling.

Organic Cacao Powder (1kg) - Sussex WholeFoods

20g Cacao Powder, plus a little extra for dusting.

Macadamia Nut Butter 170g (Meridian)

4 Tbsp Meridian Macadamia Butter

Other Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Orange Juice

Method

1. Using a high powered blender with the grinding blade, grind the pistachios into a rough powder. The finer you are able to go the easier it makes for rolling.
2. Tip out into a mixing bowl. Add 60g of the ground almonds.
3. Put the cranberries, freeze-dried cherries and sunflower seeds into the blender with the normal blending blade.
4. Blitz for a short time, stir, then pulse until you have paste.
5. Add this paste to the mixing bowl with the orange juice and the 3 Tbsp Sweet Freedom syrup. By hand, combine the ingredients together into a soft paste.
6. Bring together into a large ball. Cover with cling film or pop into a freezer bag. Seal and place in the fridge for an hour or so.
7. You can make the chocolate filling in advance. In a small mixing bowl add the cacao powder, the macadamia butter, the 20g of ground almonds and the 4 Tbsp of Sweet Freedom. Mix vigorously. Cover and set to one side.
8. To make the truffles. Remove from the fridge. Split the mixture into around 14 pieces.
9. Roll into balls. Cut each ball carefully in half with a sharp knife.
10. Using your thumb, make a depression into the inside of both halves. Add a single (large and juicy!) dried cranberry to one of the halves.
11. using a teaspoon, add a little of the chocolate paste on top of the cranberry. Gently bring both halves together and using the side of one thumb seal around the two halves to make a rough ball.
12. Then gently roll between your palms to form a sphere. In a small ball shake in some cacao powder. Then gently roll each filled ball in this.
13. Place each finished ball on a plate, serving tray or presentation box.
14. The finished truffles/bites can be stored at ambient temperature in a sealed container or if the weather is particularly warm in the door or vegetable compartment of your fridge.