“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”

~ Charles M. Schultz

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to both love and dessert and nothing says romance to me more than chocolate candy. I’m easily wooed with any combination of cocoa and sugar, especially if it’s something homemade and when it’s my turn to play the enchantress, one of my most potent love spells begins with homemade chocolate truffles.

I have a few recipes that I love, but this one is definitely my favorite. It’s easy, fast and vegan!

Vegan Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake Truffles

1 Package of Vegan Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (The kind with the white cream in the middle. Choose a favorite brand or flavor.)

2 small tubs of vegan cream cheese softened to room temperature (Use any brand you prefer. Most of them come in 8 oz. tubs.)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 12 oz. bag of Vegan Chocolate Chips (I prefer semi-sweet, but use whichever kind you enjoy most)

1 teaspoon of Coconut Oil

Directions:

Finely crush all of the cookies. A food processor works best for this. The crumbs should resemble potting soil when they are ready.

Next add the softened, vegan cream cheese and vanilla extract and process until the mixture forms a firm dough. If it looks too dry to stick together you can add a little coconut oil or a splash of non-dairy milk. Remove the dough from the food processor and roll it into bite sized balls.

Place the balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and refrigerate them for at least an hour.

When the balls have chilled, melt the chocolate and the coconut oil together and stir until smooth.

One by one, roll the balls in the melted chocolate to coat and return them to the cookie sheet. Once all of the truffles have been coated in chocolate, you can decorate them with colored sprinkles, more crushed cookies, a dusting of cocoa powder, coconut shavings, powdered sugar, chopped nuts or whatever you like. Usually I just leave them plain. Once the truffles are coated and decorated, return them to the refrigerator so the chocolate coating can set.

Serve chilled and store covered in the refrigerator.

They’ll keep for about a week, if they last that long.

If you have any leftover chocolate, use it for dipping berries. These truffles go well with chocolate covered strawberries.

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Editor: Catherine Monkman

Photos: elephant journal archives