This past week I received a copy of an interesting new book, Vegan Unplugged. It’s a collection of tips and recipes on how to be prepared for, and eat well during, emergency situations. Of course, foodie that I am, I leaped right into the recipes, which were all created by the famed Robin Robertson. Beyond emergencies, this is a great collection of pantry recipes. Really, no fresh foods are required, though you can opt to use them. The first recipe to catch my eye was these Double Peanut Chocolate Truffles…
I’m still working my way through both the text and recipes, but for now I wanted to share a fun little recipe from this guide/cookbook that I whipped up two nights ago in mere minutes – the Sweet Treat Chocolate Truffles (from p153). Since I have power, I opted to let them chill and firm up before diving in, but if you are sans power, simply eat them as is. The fudgy mixture is still nice and thick and the peanuts on the outside prevent them from sticking to your fingers! Or let them sit in a cool place for just a bit.
I made half a batch of this recipe, which the two of us devoured in about twenty-four hours – just a warning!
For the original recipe, see Vegan Unplugged. The version below includes a couple of ingredient modifications that I made for fun, plus my on-the-fly directions and notes. Jon and Robin offer more “unplugged” tips in their recipes.
Special Diet Notes: Double Peanut Chocolate Truffles
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, soy-free, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- 2.5 ounces chopped dark chocolate (I used a 60% dark – uses darker for a less sweet truffle)
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted (I use organic powdered sugar, which always seems to be quite clumpy)
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (I use unsalted, but salted might offer nice contrast)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup finely chopped peanuts
- Without power, you are going to melt that chocolate double-boiler-style over a flame, camp stove, etc. (place the chocolate in a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water). Power isn’t an issue in my house right now, so I melted the chocolate in the microwave in two 30-second intervals, stirring vigorously after each heating.
- Stir in the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until nice and smooth. As you can tell by the little white specs in my truffles, I had some stubborn clumping powdered sugar, but it certainly did not detract from the end result. You should have a rather thick mixture that you can roll into small balls.
- Place the chopped peanuts on a plate and roll the chocolate-pb balls in the peanuts to coat. Eat any leftover peanut crumbs.
- I prefer to refrigerate or chill the truffles for about 30 to 60 minutes to allow the truffles to firm up. But if you can’t wait, go ahead and devour.
