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Towards the end of the first quarter of my junior year of college, a friend approached me for help with studying for his upper division Organic Chemistry III final. Although we had been in the same classes for Parts I and II, he had a scheduling conflict with an engineering class during the previous spring quarter and postponed taking the last section. Â
Knowing the professor in charge of Part III that fall quarter and that person’s lackluster teaching style, I agreed and handed him my thick binder crammed full of notes, study guides, and practice exams. His eyes widened at the sight, but he eagerly took it and got to work.
At the end of finals week, as I cleaned my apartment and prepared to drive home for the holiday break, I heard a knock on my door. When I pulled it open, my friend stood on my welcome mat, holding my binder and a daintily wrapped white box. He gave them both to me, sharing that he earned an A on his final exam and passed the class, thanks to my detailed notes!
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When I opened the box back inside my apartment, I nearly gasped… I found a dozen gourmet dark chocolate truffles as a thank you gift! He had picked them out from a specialty chocolate shop in town famous for its decadent handcrafted treats, and after reading the insert that described each truffle’s flavor, I slowly savored them over the next week.
Pure dark chocolate… Caramel… Chocolate chip… Cherry… Mint… Toasted almond… Walnut… Apricot… Coconut… Amaretto… Grand Mernier… Kahlua… To this day, I still haven’t found any specialty chocolate shop selling truffles that rival those!
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Since I no longer live in that college town (and since my wallet and waistline can’t quite tolerate a daily gourmet truffle habit!), I whipped up these Healthy Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles for my family to enjoy on Valentine’s Day! With just 4 wholesome ingredients and no heavy cream or sugar, they’re really easy to make. Plus they’re only 21 calories!
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You’ll start with unsweetened cocoa powder. Since you’re using a full cup and no melted chocolate (hooray for easy clean-up!), just regular ol’ unsweetened is fine! The truffles already taste really dark and rich without Dutched or special dark cocoa powder.
Make sure you measure the cocoa powder correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale! Too much cocoa powder will make the truffle mixture too dry to come together, and it’ll also make your truffles taste bitter. I highly recommend this kitchen scale that I own. It has been the best $20 that I’ve ever spent, and I use it to create every recipe that I share with you because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time.
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Next, you’ll mix orange zest into the cocoa powder. Don’t skip the zest! It actually provides the majority of the orange flavor. Then comes orange juice and pure maple syrup for sweetness. That’s it—all 4 ingredients!
After chilling the mixture, you’ll roll it into spheres to form each truffle. The chocolate mixture tends to stick to your hands a bit, so wipe them off with a damp paper towel after shaping each truffle.
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How easy and decadent is that? ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your truffles and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Dark Chocolate Orange Truffles | | Print |
- 1 cup (80g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp orange zest
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 small)
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- Stir together the cocoa powder and orange zest in a small bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in the orange juice and maple syrup. Stir until everything is completely incorporated. (It takes a bit of effort!) Chill the chocolate mixture for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling for longer than 2 hours, cover the top of the bowl. with foil or plastic wrap to prevent the chocolate mixture from drying out.)
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
- Remove the chocolate mixture from the refrigerator, and roll it into 16 small spheres. After shaping each truffle, place it on the prepared baking sheet. Once all of the truffles have been formed, transfer them to an airtight container. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
For a sweeter flavor, substitute additional maple syrup for an equal amount of orange juice.
For a stronger orange flavor, increase the orange zest by an additional ½ to 1 teaspoon.
The chocolate mixture tends to stick to your hands a bit, so wipe off your hands with a damp paper towel after shaping each truffle.
Here is my video on how to make truffles! (It's located right above the recipe!)
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower carb}
View Nutrition Information
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥   Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
♥   Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Truffles
♥   Dark Chocolate Blueberry Truffles
♥   Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
♥   Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Truffles
♥   Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Truffles
♥   Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
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I love the orange-chocolate combo–and this looks like such a quick & simple recipe, too. I never would have thought to use cocoa powder as the base for a truffle–I’ve seen almond butter, coconut butter, almond flour, coconut flour, etc. but I love the simplicity of this.
Thanks Joyce! 🙂
i just adore that you took the unconventional route in making a healthier truffle with orange juice and cocoa powder. I have all the ingredients at this minute and gonna try it. Thanks for the share Amy
I can’t wait to hear what you think of the truffles Maria! 🙂
I remember having others notes during my chem days being SUCH A LIFE SAVER! Truffle thank you’s are so nice. Yours look amazing, and your ball rolling skills are legit! You really can’t go wrong with chocolate and orange.
Thanks Brittany!! Are these all ingredients that you can have with your new diet and lifestyle? 🙂
Can I use cacao powder instead of unsweetened cocoa?
I haven’t worked much with cacao powder, so I’m not entirely sure based on my own personal experience. From what I understand, cacao powder is more bitter than cocoa powder, so even though the texture would be fairly similar, you’d probably need to add more maple syrup (and less orange juice — check the Notes section for more info!) to get a not-so-bitter flavor. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try the truffles Priscilla!
I had some chocolate orange truffles at Christmas, and seeing these reminds me just how delicious those truffles were. Yet these are DARK chocolate orange truffles, so they’ll be even more indulgent! So easy to make as well… I can’t resist – I’ll have to make these for dessert!
You’re such a sweetheart Katie — I can’t wait to hear what you think of these truffles! If you lived any closer, I’d make you some myself! 😉
These look amazing! I love how simple the ingredients are, it makes it so easy to make! x
Izzy |https://pinchofdelight.wordpress.com
Thanks Izzy!
These are noting but AMAZING. I used Cacao as that’s all I had in the house last night. After a tad annoying few days I just wanted to treat myself asap. These did the trick without ruining my weight loss plans. The cacao left the truffles slightly bitter but I do love very dark chocolate so is still a win for me. Thank you Amy for a fantastic receipe xx
I’m so glad you loved the truffles Natalie!! That means a lot to me! 🙂 And I’m really glad that the cacao worked. Thanks for letting me know — I’ve been asked about that substitution by many readers, so now I know the answer! 😉
these are awesome, amy, thanks so much! after two weeks on phase 1 of south beach, hubs and i were ready for a sweet treat. just one question, though: they are a bit more bitter than we like; we don’t want to add more maple syrup (= more carbs); would adding a drop of stevia work?
Yes! A drop (or a few) of liquid stevia would definitely work. If you prefer, you can actually lower the carbs even further by substituting unsweetened cashew or almond milk for the maple syrup and using ½ to ¾ teaspoon of my favorite vanilla creme stevia. 🙂 I’d love to hear whether you enjoy that stevia version any better!
that sounds great, amy, thanks for the tip! i’m not able to find vanilla-flavored kosher-certified stevia; should i add vanilla extract with the plain stevia? or would the flavor be too strong and interfere with the orange?
For this particular recipe, no need to add vanilla! You really won’t be able to detect its flavor with the amount of orange juice and zest. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how the stevia truffles turn out!
Simply delicious and so easy to make? Saw the recipe and couldn’t resist, perfect sweet but healthy treat. And I love the combination of orange and bitter chocolate?
Thanks for the recipe and have a great weekend!
K x
Had some friends over tonight and now all those truffels are gone? Will have to make some more tomorrow, they are simply too delicious ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the truffles Katja! I’m always blown away by how many of my recipes that you try — and by your sweet words about every one! Thank you so much, dear friend! 🙂
I simply love your page and recipes, it’s just the best! so no reason for me to look elsewhere when I am in search of a new awesome recipe to try?
Awwwww thank you SO much Katja!! You’re just the sweetest! ♡♡♡
these look absolutely scrumptious!! i love that the recipe is so easy too 🙂 thank you so much for sharing this! 😀
Thanks Emily!