You heard correctly, Raw Zucchini Bread Truffles. Last weekend I was baking one of my favorites from the blog, gluten free Zucchini Bread with Sweet Cashew Cream, but as I was enjoying warm slices right out of the oven, I noticed it really wasn’t as satisfying as if it were cool or cold. The hot sun that afternoon and my craving for something cold inspired me to turn this recipe into a summer sweet treat, all raw and chilled. These truffles have all the flavors of zucchini bread without any of the fuss of baking, I use only a handful of easy to find ingredients in your pantry with the added bonus of the end result being incredibly nutrient dense and über tasty.
There’s nothing like baking zucchini bread with warming spices of cinnamon and nutmeg filling the air in your home, or spreading creamy cashew butter on top so it melts just enough to drizzle over the edge– yum. There is one exception though…when it’s too hot to enjoy warm food! It’s important to hone in on our body awareness and truly listen to our bodies are telling us what it wants for nourishment; my cravings and “callings” for food definitely change with the season. In the spring and summer my body gravitates towards things that are loaded with water, raw, easy to digest, sweet, and cool/cold in temperature to create balance from the warm weather; in comparison to winter and fall months enjoying something warm, hearty, and grounding suffices any cravings I may have (think yin and yang balance).
Raw Zucchini Bread Truffles are exactly that, a combination of a beloved warm baked zucchini bread transformed into a completely raw cool treat. I love using chewy and sticky dates as a perfect vegan binder and they provide all the sweetness you’d ever need in these. What would zucchini bread truffles be though without zucchini, and you can bet that I don’t leave out this vital ingredient. Zucchini makes these truffles extremely moist while also giving the truffles some volume and “lightness” to them. Warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are also used in this mix, making it “warming” in the spice sense, but cool in the texture and mouthfeel. Talk about juxtaposition!
None of you should be surprised by now that I’m also trying to sneak greens and vegetable into your desserts too- I’m sorry, I have to, it’s a calling I can’t ignore. Zucchini like I mentioned earlier, is incredibly hydrating and water rich, it also contains fiber, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, and B vitamins. The nuts used in these truffles, walnuts and almonds, are both great sources of healthy fats, plant-based proteins, fiber, vitamin E, and minerals like iron, calcium, and manganese. All in all, these truffles trump any mid-afternoon slump pick me up from a sugar-laden coffee/latte or processed snack from the vending machine, instead you’ll get long lasting energy from these!
Little bits to note. When making these truffles, since zucchini is incredibly water-rich, a good thing, it can be not such a great thing when making raw desserts. You may need to adjust the amount of rolled oats, so if you’re truffles are a little on the wet side simply add more oats to soak up the rest of the moisture; otherwise follow the recipe as is. It’s also important to keep these chilled as the coconut oil solidifies when it’s cold (a.k.a. keeps the truffles from falling apart). The end result will be soft, chewy, and cold- they’re not dense nor should be hard unless you put them in the freezer, which is fine! Speaking of the freezer, these truffles also freeze really well if you want to make a large batch ahead of time to keep cold and ready to thaw at moments notice (i.e. when you’re sweet tooth is craving something!).
- 1 cup (175g) shredded zucchini
- 1 cup (125g) walnuts
- 1/2 cup (85g) almonds
- 1 1/2 cups dates (185g), pitted
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- 1/2 inch ginger root, freshly grated
- dash of ground clove
- dash of ground allspice
- pinch of sea salt to taste
- First, shred the zucchini. In a food processor combine all ingredients until a sticky ball forms. This may take adding each ingredient, especially the dates, in the food processor one at a time and continually stirring down the sides.
- Be sure that your coconut oil is melted when putting into the food processor so it’s evenly distributed.
- Once a large dough ball has formed, take wet hands or greased with a little extra coconut oil and form into even balls, about 1 tablespoon for each ball (these can easily be made larger if you prefer).
- Once all the dough has been formed into small bite sized balls, put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until well formed.
- Serve cool. Freeze leftovers or make a large batch to freeze for later.
- Enjoy!
I’ve been loving the whole recipe development process with these raw truffles, a lot of taste testing had to go into it… a lot. Such a hard job (please catch my sarcasm here). Hope you all enjoy and be sure to keep sharing your creations on social media using the #nutritionstripped tag!
Enjoy!
xx McKel
Nutrition Stripped in the news // check out my latest article in Relish Magazine, Health Popsicles 5 ways!
