Every holiday season, I look forward to my family’s stocking tradition. After celebrating my grandparents’ wedding anniversary with a honey-baked ham dinner on Christmas Eve, we retrieve the red felt stockings from their shelf high up in the bedroom hallway closet and lay them on the bottom of the brick fireplace (or, last year, on the dining room table since my parents’ new puppy slept in the family room and loved chewing on socks!).
My grandma sewed all of the stockings by hand, starting with mom’s over 50 years ago and adding one for my dad, my brother, and me as we entered the family. Each person’s features a different character—a tree for Mom, a holly branch for Dad, a bell for my brother, and an angel for me—but they all have a gold trim border, a Santa Claus face, a beaded candy cane, and many brightly colored sequins that now barely hang on by a thread or two.
On Christmas morning, we always open the stockings first, before we shake or even glance at the presents under the tree. Although Santa’s larger gifts change year to year, we always wake up to particular items from that jolly ol’ elf: a travel-sized package of tissues (they fit perfectly in the toe, making it look full and round!), a calendar (these adorable Pooh Bear ones, if we’re lucky!), and chocolate candy.
The type of chocolate varies. While milk chocolate gold coins or snowman-themed molds in colorful foil usually appeared throughout our childhood, Santa upgraded around the time I started high school and began leaving Lindor truffles or Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares filled with jam and caramel.
For a few Christmases during my college years, we suspected that Santa’s elves shopped at Target… Because we found boxes of the same Mrs. Fields truffles with caramel, chocolate peppermint, cookie dough, cherry cordial, and brownie batter fillings that Target sold on their dollar aisle!
Rumor has it that Santa may be switching back to Ghirardelli squares this year, so to make sure my family still gets their holiday truffle fix, I made these Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Truffles! They’re incredibly rich and decadent, but they only require 5 healthy ingredients. That makes them pretty dangerous in my eyes!
These healthier truffles start with cocoa powder. Yes, regular ol’ unsweetened cocoa powder! I don’t want to deal with the mess of melted chocolate or heating up heavy cream on the stove, so we’re sticking with this super easy (aka minimal dishes) route. Even better, using cocoa powder means you drastically reduce the fat and calorie count in these candies—to only 22 calories each!
Next comes the ingredient that holds the truffles together. It may sound a little strange, but trust me on this… It’s unsweetened applesauce! The applesauce binds together the cocoa powder to create the smooth, almost fudgy-like texture. (But no, you can’t taste any apple flavor at all!)
For this version, you’ll mix instant coffee crystals into the applesauce. Don’t use regular coffee grounds! You need the kind that immediately dissolves in liquids. You can find instant coffee right alongside the regular coffee grounds, and this is the kind I buy. Both regular and decaf will work—you just need their flavor!
The final two ingredients are pure maple syrup and peppermint extract. Be sure to use the good stuff when it comes to maple syrup! Skip the faux pancake syrup or sugar-free varieties. Pure maple syrup generally comes in a glass bottle or squat round plastic jug, and the only ingredient on the label should be “pure maple syrup.”
As for peppermint extract, a little goes a long way! For a more subtle flavor, you’ll just need ⅛ teaspoon. If you prefer a strong peppermint flavor that’s more prominent than the coffee, increase that to ¼ teaspoon instead.
Here’s my video showing you just how easy these truffles are to make! I always giggle a little at what happens at the 43-second mark…
Time to make guilt-free holiday candy!
| Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Truffles | | Print |
- ⅓ cup (85g) unsweetened applesauce (a little less than 1 snack-sized container)
- 1 ¼ tsp instant coffee granules
- 1 cup (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured correctly)
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- ⅛ - ¼ tsp peppermint extract
- In a small bowl, stir together the applesauce and instant coffee until the instant coffee has fully dissolved. Add the cocoa powder to a separate bowl, and make a well in the center. Pour in the applesauce mixture, maple syrup, and peppermint extract. Stir until everything is completely incorporated. Chill the chocolate mixture for 30 minutes.
- Roll the chocolate mixture into 16 spheres, and place in an airtight container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Do not substitute regular coffee grounds for the instant coffee. You need the kind that will dissolve in liquid, and they can be found right next to the regular coffee grounds at the grocery store.
Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the maple syrup.
For a stronger, more potent peppermint taste, use ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract.
It’s important to measure the cocoa powder like this, the same way as with flour. The chocolate mixture requires quite a bit of stirring to fully incorporate all of the cocoa powder! If the cocoa powder hasn’t completely mixed into the other ingredients after a few minutes of stirring, add a tiny bit of milk, ½ teaspoon at a time, until the mixture comes together.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb}
So, could Orange extract be used and maybe a bit of Orange rind? If do, is 1/8 a 1/4 extract enough with orange? Thanks for all your great recipes over the years
I really appreciate your kind words and interest in my recipes, Carol! I actually have an orange version of this recipe here. Maybe that would be easier to follow rather than trying to modify this version? 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of those truffles if you try making them!
I made these yesterday as I have been looking for treats with less cholesterol.
They are so tasty and I just rolled them in crushed candy canes for a festive touch!
Thanks again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these truffles, Lois! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. It really means a lot! 🙂 I love your idea of rolling them in crushed candy canes too. That sounds so fun and delicious!