During my first quarter of graduate school, I taught a weekly lab class right after lunch. So every Tuesday just before noon, I slipped into the lab, drew my diagrams and directions on the white board before the students showed up, and left by 12:30 to hurriedly eat the food I brought from home.
Located on the edge of campus, fairly close to the parking lot, very few people walked by the lab building, so I usually sat on a bench out back in the sunshine, right next to the arboretum where lots of green trees’ leaves rustled in the wind. It was my calm and peaceful period before I climbed back up to the third floor to prevent my students from shattering their glassware or setting themselves on fire.
As a chocoholic, I finished my lunch every day with a small square or two of dark, normally from Trader Joe’s. They sell little three-packs of various percentages up near the cash registers—perfect for tucking into purses or brown bag lunches.
But one week while at the huge chain grocery store in town, I noticed a new product by a different company on one of the end caps: dark chocolate blueberries. They looked like fresh fruit covered in dark chocolate—one of my favorite treats!—so I bought a bag.
That night, I opened the package to stick a few into a small Tupperware container to slip into my lunch, but I waited to try one until the following afternoon. With their fairly small size, no bigger than my thumbnail, I assumed the company used the itty bitty wild blueberries as the center. I bit halfway into one and…
Blueberry jam. Not the fresh blueberry I had been hoping for! It had the same consistency as a gumdrop, and it still tasted good—a regular natural flavor instead of the artificial candy taste—but still… Not quite what I wanted!
With my chocolate cravings spiraling out of control this week (chalk it up to moving stress!), I decided to finally make my own version—the one I really wanted. Except I put an even better twist on it…
I made them into truffles!
That’s right, these humongous Dark Chocolate Blueberry Truffles contain real fruit in the center! Surrounded by decadent fudgy chocolate, these healthier truffles taste every bit as indulgent as the ones you buy from See’s and Godiva. But mine are made with purely wholesome ingredients, so they fit into almost every single diet—gluten-free, vegan, clean-eating, and even paleo—and they’re only 28 calories each!
You just need 5 ingredients to make these truffles, all of which you probably store in your pantry already: cocoa powder, applesauce, honey, vanilla, and blueberries. That’s it—NO heavy cream! With nothing to heat (and no cream to accidentally scald), you simply mix together everything but the berries in a bowl and pop that into the fridge to chill.
The longer you chill the chocolate mixture, the easier it’ll be to roll the truffles into balls. Leave the chocolate mixture in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but if you have the patience to wait 4 to 8 hours (or even overnight), I highly recommend doing that! If you measure the cocoa powder correctly, the mixture will initially be very sticky, so chilling longer helps it firm up.
When choosing blueberries, pick the biggest, fattest ones you can find! See those up there in the photo? You want the one on the right, not the half-sized one on the left. The bigger and fatter the blueberries, the sweeter and juicier they’ll be. The smaller ones often have a little tartness to their taste, and with how dark the chocolate is, we want a really sweet center to pair with that!
When you roll out the truffles, set a small bowl of water nearby. If the chocolate mixture really sticks to your hands, dip a few fingers into the water, and rub the moisture on your palms. You just need a thin layer—don’t drench your hands! The moisture won’t entirely prevent the mixture from sticking to your palms, but it certainly makes it much easier to roll the truffles!
To fill each truffle with fruit, press your finger into the center to form a deep well. Stick the blueberry inside, fold up the edges, and gently roll it between your palms. The less you roll, the less it’ll stick to your hands. Then place the truffles on a sheet of wax paper, and chill them until they turn firm.
Rich and decadent, these skinny Dark Chocolate Blueberry Truffles are a chocoholic’s dream! They’re easy enough for everyday treats, but they taste fancy enough for a special occasion. But be warned—they’re seriously addictive. I polished off five in one day…
Time to make more!
If you like this recipe, then be sure to follow my Healthy Chocolate Lover’s Dream board on Pinterest!
These rich truffles are a chocolate lover’s dream! They’re extremely dark, and the sweet blueberry center pairs perfectly with the rich coating. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cocoa, applesauce, honey, and vanilla until smooth. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Divide the chocolate mixture into 16 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll into a ball; then flatten into a circle. Place a blueberry into the center, and fold the chocolate up around the sides. Roll back into a ball, and place on a sheet of wax paper. Repeat with the remaining chocolate and berries. Chill until ready to serve.
Notes: For a vegan version, substitute agave in place of the honey.
If the chocolate mixture sticks too much to your hands while rolling into balls, moisten your palms with a few drops of water. The moisture won’t completely prevent the chocolate from sticking to your palms, but it’ll at least reduce the amount of leftover chocolate!
Great post, Amy! Those truffles look delicious! Can I use one of these photos and link your recipe for my blog post on “Easy and healthy snacks that will keep your energy level up”?
Thanks!
Juliana
http://julianachow.com
Thanks Juliana! You’re so sweet — that sounds wonderful! Thanks for offering to include me!
Thanks so much! 🙂 You can read it here: http://www.julianachow.com/lifestyle/6-healthy-delicious-easy-snacks-for-work-studying-that-will-satisfy-your-sweet-tooth/
Yeah.. There’s a certain brand of “blueberry and acai berry FLAVORED” candies out there. I was rather disappointed that they didn’t use real fruit in their product. However there are chocolate covered blueberries that Dove chocolates puts out that are indeed real fruit.
I do LOVE blueberry truffles though! It’s a shame they are so expensive to get the real thing! 😛
It’s so true about blueberry truffles being expensive David… Thank goodness they’re cheaper to make at home! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these if you try them!
Hi, i love your recipes, i’ll try to do the truffles but i cant find apple sauce, how can i replace it? thank you!.
You’re so kind — thank you Lou! I’d recommend adding another tablespoon of honey and substituting 3-4 tablespoons of milk (any type will do) for the applesauce. You may need a little more to get the chocolate mixture to fully come together, but it’s easier to add more later than take away milk if you’ve added too much! 🙂 I’d love to hear how that turns out for you!