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Root + Savor

Connecting with food in a healthy way

Desserts

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Keto Chocolate Truffles

Keto Chocolate

What I love about these chocolates is that they require zero double-boilers or a fancy candy thermometer. They are fool proof and easy to make. All you need is some cocoa powder, nut butter, coconut oil and optional sweetener. Then you can go from there and add some fun toppings like flaky sea salt, cinnamon, cacao nibs or slivered almonds. Or even some freeze dried raspberries, coconut flakes or chia and hemp seeds! I’ll often get inspiration by walking through the chocolate bar aisle in the health food store. And then I’ll want to buy all the pretty packaged chocolate but then remember I can make it at home!

Here I’ve just used an ice cube tray that is rubber on the bottom for an easy pop out! I store these chocolates in the freezer or fridge because the coconut oil gets a little melty when left out for too long. Then you can transfer the chocolate to a mason jar and have an chocolate snack whenever you want 🙂

If you are a dark chocolate fan like me, then you’ll love these! If you aren’t so much of a 100% dark chocolate kinda person, have no fear, cause you can add stevia or maple syrup or honey and AS MUCH AS YOU WANT. Okay, but don’t go overboard, cause really, that nut butter makes it so creamy and a lil sweet that you really don’t need a lot of extra sweetener. If you are on the Keto train right now, these are the perfect snackers with no added sugar. What also makes them Keto is they are low carb. I’ve only tried using stevia but I’m sure you could try other varieties out there too. Remember, you just need a pinch of stevia because it’s very concentrated.

Really, why wouldn’t you always have these on hand? I don’t know why I wouldn’t either. So, looks like I need to make another batch 🙂

The great thing about these chocolate truffles is that the recipe is loose enough to make room for variations. If you’d prefer to use grass fed butter rather than coconut oil, the texture of the truffles will be that–a little more buttery and chewy! Or if you want to try adding a little bit of heavy cream or coconut cream (start out with 2 tbsp) then you’ll also get a similar smooth texture. You can also opt out completely from the nut butter or even use less of the amount. But why would you do that? Alright, we have an action plan here now.

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Keto Chocolate Truffles

Servings 16

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup coconut oil or grass fed butter
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup almond butter or other nut butter cashew butter would be really creamy!
  • 1/4 tsp stevia or other sweetener to taste adjust measuring if using liquid
  • optional toppings coconut flakes, freeze dried strawberries, hemp seeds

Instructions

  1. Melt coconut oil or grass fed butter on low heat. Stir in almond butter until fully incorporated. Mix in cocoa powder until dissolved.

  2. Add stevia and taste the chocolate mixture. Then pour chocolate into a glass measuring cup with a spout and divide into the rubber ice cube molds. Place in freezer until fully solid (about 45 minutes). Pop the chocolate truffles out, place them in a mason jar and store in the freezer or fridge!

  3. Fun pptional add ins are flaky sea salt on top of chocolate molds (place in freezer for a couple minutes to get a little solid before topping with sea salt so it doesn't drop), chia seeds or cacao nibs! 

Recipe Notes

Storing the chocolate truffles in the fridge will give them a softer texture than in the freezer. If keeping for a few weeks, store in freezer to last longer. 

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Coconut Butter

Make this delicious 2 ingredient coconut butter for all things toast, lattes, curries, chocolate and the list goes on!

Have you heard of coconut butter? The fancy stuff in jars that sometimes describes it as manna? Because, well, it might just be that.

Creamy, buttery, coconut spread…really what’s not to love? It’s so versatile used in cooking for sauces like curry or placed spoonfuls in your matcha lattes or fruity tropical smoothies. And definitely paired with peanut butter on toast and have you even tried mixing it into a homemade chocolate bark?

And all you need is a food processor/blender and unsweetened coconut shreds. There are a few other ingredients like a bit of coconut oil for getting a more creamy consistency and some almond/vanilla extract for a hint of nuttiness and sea salt because that’s gotta happen.

The first time I heard about coconut butter I knew I needed to have it. But I couldn’t find myself to buy the jars when I could make it. So, I literally had this giant bag of coconut flakes for months waiting to be made into butter. I just thought it was so daunting and put it off for so long. You know, but you are totally up to making a fancy soup and chopping up all the things and braising and sautĂ©ing but no, coconut butter is just too advanced.

Finally, I pulled out the bag and mustered up the courage to pour two cups of shreds into the food processor. And then I just pressed the button. And the only babysitting was scraping down the sides every few minutes. And it was so easy! And so delicious not to have in your pantry/fridge.

How cute would this be for a gift? Plus, you could step it up a notch and make chocolates for Valentine’s Day and add this to the mix! Or add to your favorite chocolatey brownies. Maybe make my chocolate chunk skillet cookie and spread a layer of this on top? Possibilities, guys, just never ending.

Coconut butter might just be your new favorite spread. I dare you to go make it! Just find out for yourself that this is creamy, delicious, coconutty straight up manna.

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Coconut Butter

Ingredients

  • 2 cups unsweetened coconut shreds
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp almond or vanilla extract optional
  • sea salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Add unsweetened coconut shreds to a food processor and blend for about 10 minutes, scraping down the sides every several minutes. It can take about 10-15 minutes to blend and get a creamy consistency. I've found that adding 1 tablespoon of coconut oil helps to get it smooth, but leaving it out is optional. 


  2. You can also add almond or vanilla extract and some sea salt to taste!

  3. Store in a mason jar in the fridge, or if using within a couple weeks the cupboard is fine. 

  4. Enjoy spreading on toast, in your lattes, or mixed into your favorite homemade chocolate bar!

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Peppermint Fudge (GF, Paleo, Vegan)

Fudge is definitely a classic holiday treat. Quintessential for a Christmas party. Better yet, make it Peppermint Fudge. It’s so chewy, so creamy, and so very Christmas.

This dessert is made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand. Literally you only need 5 items. Cocoa powder, coconut oil, nut butter, peppermint extract and sweetener of choice. The best part is you don’t need to bake and you it only takes 5 minutes to make. The rest of the process is to let it harden in the freezer and then you have a treat in just 20 minutes! 

This fudge is sweetened with natural sugars and if you’d like to make it less sweet you could just use half the amount of maple syrup.  And for anyone who is gluten-free, paleo, or vegan this fudge is for you! I also like to store this fudge in the freezer and enjoy it right away but if you like it on the softer side you could store it in the fridge. And then of course if you are feeling festive then add a little bit of crushed candy canes on top cause they add a whole lot of merry to this fudge!

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Peppermint Fudge

Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 15 squares

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Coconut oil
  • 1/4 Cup Maple syrup
  • 1/2 Cup Sunbutter or other nut butter
  • 1/2 Cup Walnuts
  • 1/2 Cup Cocoa powder
  • 1 Tsp Peppermint extract

Instructions

  1. Mix all the ingredients in a pan to melt on the stove. Once the chocolate is  melted then pour into a loaf pan with parchment paper. Let cool in the freezer for 20 minutes and cut into desired sized squares. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint on top and enjoy! 

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Coconut Almond Bars (No Bake)

A healthy, coconut almond treat, so easy to make and sweetened with natural sugar!

These are too good not to have them in your fridge all the time. I made them the other night for Kosta’s birthday treat. We love them that much! They are classy enough to be birthday desserts and classic enough to be your afternoon snack. They are simple ingredients that you’ll want to keep on hand so you can always replenish your stash. Coconut shreds, ground almonds, coconut oil and maple syrup. That’s basically it and just add some spices! You probably already know that my two favorite sweet spices are cinnamon and cardamom so just accept that they’ll be in the mix 🙂

What I love about these bars is that they are very versatile to fit whatever you need. Meaning they can be paleo. Or vegan. Even keto! If you need to swap out honey for maple syrup or stevia for sweetener, it’s an easy substitute! And you can get creative by adding the different extracts like peppermint for Christmas time or almond extract is my personal favorite which you’ll see in this recipe! They taste like a healthy snickerdoodle cookie which is just the best. I store these bars in the refrigerator if I’m going to eat them that week, otherwise they can be placed in the freezer for several weeks and still taste amazing! The coconut oil helps these bars hold their shape so leaving them out too long at room temperature may cause the oil to melt a little bit.

Pink Himalayan sea salt, Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom and almond extract are in my opinion the winning combination here. And everyone will love these bars are your next holiday party or pre-workout snack or an after dinner dessert! Plus, these are packed with healthy fats that keep you happy and satisfied. Coconut oil reduces inflammation with high levels of antioxidants, boosts your immune system, improves energy levels, and contains fatty acids which is awesome for your skin!

Creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, nutty bars are just calling your name. Plus no-bake which means you could be making these in less than 5 minutes and if you don’t have the patience to let them cool in the freezer than I guess you’ll just have to eat them like cookie dough but ya, know, I mean you can have both (maybe I know from experience?) What a day to be a live guys. You can have your bars and eat them too!

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No Bake Coconut Almond Bars

A healthy, coconut almond treat, so easy to make and sweetened with natural sugar!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 14 bars
Calories 222 kcal
Author Karis Alex

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almonds ground
  • 1 cup coconut oil melted
  • 1 cup coconut flakes shredded
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup more or less to taste
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract vanilla or peppermint too
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon more to taste
  • 1/8 tsp Pink Himalayan sea salt more to taste

Instructions

  1. If using whole almonds, grind them up in your blender until texture of almond meal/flour (can be coarsely ground). 

  2. Melt coconut oil on the stove top until clear and no clumps. Then add all ingredients together in a large bowl. 

  3. Pour ingredients in a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. Press with hand or spatula so that it reaches all corners of the pan. Cool in the freezer until solid (about 20-30 minutes) then cut into bars and enjoy! 

Recipe Notes

Trader Joe's sells almond meal or almond flour too. Sometimes I'll buy whole almonds and then grind them up in my blender to make almond meal, which is just a bit coarser then normal flour.