Raw Vegan Beijinho (Brazilian Coconut Truffles)

Raw Vegan Beijinho (Brazilian Coconut Truffles)

These sweet, creamy Brazilian Coconut Truffles are traditionally served at birthday parties and are truly unforgettable! Normally they’re made with condensed milk, butter, and coconut – but we’re swapping all that out for all kinds of healthy fats: cashews, coconut oil, and secretly some pumpkin puree too.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cashews, or 1 cup cashew butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup (or more to taste) maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice or ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of cardamom
• 1/4 cup white chocolate, chopped or macadamia nuts (optional)
• desiccated coconut for coating

Instructions

1. Add the cashews to a food processor and blend until it turns into smooth, creamy cashew butter (this will take up to 10 minutes).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the white chocolate and desiccated coconut, and blend until fully mixed. Taste mixture to make sure the sweetness and spices are balanced to your liking.
3. Transfer to a small tray and allow to cool a little if it’s warm from being blended. Now add the white chocolate or macadamia nuts and stir through. Transfer to the fridge and let it set for at least two hours, or overnight.
4. To make the balls, use a spoon and drop bite-sized balls into a bowl with the desiccated coconut. Then with your hands roll them into neat balls and make sure they’re thoroughly coated with coconut. The handling will soften and warm them up a little bit, so it’s best to put them back into the fridge for at least 30 minutes before eating them. They can also be kept in the freezer, just take them out to thaw for 5-10 minutes before eating them! Enjoy!

Notes

• You can use a different nut/seed butter if you wish like sunflower seed butter, almond butter, peanut butter, etc but it will impart a nutty taste to your truffles – and less of that authentic coconutty condensed milk flavor.
• You can swap out the coconut oil for cacao butter but then reduce to 1/4 cup
• If you’re not a big fan of coconut, have no fear! You can coat these balls of glory in chia seeds, cacao powder, hemp seeds, or a combination of the spices used in it.