Crio Bru Truffles

These rich, chocolatey no-bake truffles are full of healthy, energizing, guilt-free ingredients, and they whip up in a jiffy!  As the sole sweetener in these morsels, dates compliment the chocolate and nut flavors beautifully. 

One of my favorite healthy ways to get my chocolate fix is drinking Crio Bru. If you haven't tried it, you should! It is a drink made from brewing ground, roasted cacao beans. It is full of antioxidants and important minerals, gives me a natural boost of energy, but it doesn't have the addictive high-caffeine-content that coffee does. 

After I brew my Crio, I like to save the damp grounds to use in recipes. They add rich chocolate flavor, fiber, and all of the health benefits of the brewed drink!

My entire family loved these truffles. I had to hide them in the freezer so my husband was sure to get some before they disappeared!

Crio Bru Truffles

Makes 18-20 

Ingredients

1/2 cup Crio Bru grounds (previously brewed and well-drained, but damp)

1 cup of raw pecans, walnuts, or cashews

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

10 Medjool dates, pitted

4 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Line a small cookie sheet with wax paper. Measure 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder into a small bowl, and set aside. 

2. In a medium food processor or blender, process damp Crio Bru grounds and nuts until finely chopped. Add coconut oil, dates, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and sea salt. Pulse on high 5-10 seconds at a time, scraping the bowl as needed, until all ingredients are well incorporated. 

3. Using a medium cookie scoop (or your fingers), form 1.5 inch balls. Roll the balls in the bowl of cocoa powder, then set on the wax paper.  Once all the dough is used, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for 30 min to 1 hour to set.  Tasting is allowed. :)

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates

Father's Day is this Sunday, which naturally makes me think of bacon. So I decided to take action.

Dates are starting to show up in the produce department. I found mine at Costco last week. And I bought their big brick of Raskas Cream Cheese (to use in another recipe, but it is a BIG brick). It is THE BEST cream cheese I've had.   I also had some cashews leftover from my trailmix recipe.  Adding some thick-cut bacon and honey to the mix, and I was ready to rock.

Pit the dates. Make a thin slice lengthwise to open, then the pit is pretty loose in there. Pull out each pit and discard it.   

Next, put a 1-2 teaspoon slab (depending on the size of the date) of cream cheese in each opened date. Then push a cashew into the cream cheese on each one.

Now pre-cook the bacon a bit by placing it between a couple of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 1 minute. 

Here is the bacon after the pre-cook step. It is not crispy at all. It should be just starting to curl up at the ends.

Cut the strips of bacon into halves or thirds. I did mostly halves, but thirds for some of my skinnier dates.  It isn't an exact science. Wrap the dates in the bacon and secure through the middle with a toothpick. 

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can skip the parchment, but I recommend it if you have it.  Makes clean-up much easier.

Put a squirt of honey on each bacon-date roll.  This glaze is SO yummy when it bakes.

Bake for 7 minutes at 450°. Turn over each one and return to the oven to bake 5-7 minutes more, until crispy on the edges.

Tastes divine. And has a fair amount of redeeming value--that's whole fruit in there...whole milk in the cheese... a whole nut... and a whole bunch of yummy. 

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