These super nutritious little bites of sesame sweetness remind me of the halva I used to devour as a child. They’re easy to make, vegan, dairy-free and of course, gluten-free. Don’t let all those labels scare you though, more than anything else, they’re just plain old delicious.
- ½ cup cashews, raw
- ¼ cup tahini (I used roasted though raw will probably work just as well)
- ¼ cup agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sesame seeds (I used raw though you could toast them for a stronger flavor)
- Place cashews in food processor and pulse until the texture of coarse sand
- Add tahini, agave and vanilla and pulse until smooth
- Transfer mixture from food processor to a bowl and refrigerate 2 hours
- Roll into 1-inch balls and coat with sesame seeds
- Serve
Several readers have commented that they will be making truffles or one of my other candy recipes as presents for the holidays this year. Adding a personal touch to your gifts by making things from scratch not only saves money, it offers the recipient something from the heart.
When I was a child I made cookies and candy for family friends, packed the treats in take out containers that I bought at the local Chinese restaurant and tied them with colorful ribbon on the handle. I had so much fun doing this every year.
What gifts are you thinking of making for the holidays?
Ana says
Can I use a different nut than cashews?
Your recipes are terrific!
Elana says
Ana, I haven’t tried that so not sure, if you do experiment please let us know how it goes :-)
Suzy says
I made a double recipe (hardly worth it for 8 balls, right?) but it ended up making 40 small truffles, using a nut-butter cup silicone tray. Followed the recipe exactly (a little less sweetener) and they are to die for. If you like halvah you will love these. I love the cashew base.
Shira says
I added some chocolate protein powder and a tbsp of cacao powder and it tastes like the yummiest chocolate Halva ever. Thank you!!!!!!
Lauren says
These bake nicely into cookies too!
Miche says
Raw cashews aren’t really raw — they’re steamed. If they weren’t, they’d be poisonous.
What people who sell cashews mean by “raw” is “not roasted.”
kristina antolin says
I love this recipe, but the truffles got so mushy at room temp. I filled dates w/ them and sprinkled sesame seeds on top…problem solved.
Haley says
I just found your website from Tasty Kitchen. I’m so glad I stumbled upon it. You have so many delicious looking recipes! I especially want to try the raw chocolate fudge and the chia seed tapioca pudding. Thanks for sharing all these recipes! :)
elana says
Nicole,
Glad to hear you liked this. You are very welcome.
Elana
Nicole says
Hi Elana:
I made these truffles today and they are incredible. They are the best thing I’ve eaten in the last seven months since becoming a gluten-free vegan.
Thanks so much for the recipe. So yummy!
Now I’m going to make the orange chocolate truffles.
elana says
Penny,
Great additions to the prune truffles, however if you are going to add more liquid ingredients (tea and agave) then they will definitely get gloppy unless you also increase the dry ingredients as well. Good luck in your experiments!
Elana
Penny says
Elana,
tried the choc prune truffles and the sesame truffles today. Used brewed chai tea with a bit of agave (just the tea, not the milk, sugar, etc.) as the liquid, and added in a few more spices such as cardamom, cinnamon and a pinch of chile. They are fabulous tasting but so soft. I’m worried that too long out of the fridge and they’ll be gloppy. The seseme truffles are also a success — so delicious. I wanted to tell you I added a bit of lemon zest and sea salt, which added a little zing to them. Thanks again,
elana says
Stephanie,
That sounds delicious and thanks for the link to your site.
Enjoy the take out containers! They’re fun and easy.
Elana
Stephanie says
I am making this killer recipe for Mexican Chocolate Bark. My batch will be dairy/gluten free of course, but I can’t afford to make everyone’s DF, so they get the regular old recipe. But seriously, this is so yummy! I love the idea of the chinese take out boxes! I might have to steal that :)
http://nograinnopain.blogspot.com/2008/10/mexican-chocolate-cake-fiasco-with.html
elana says
Cakespy -I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.
Foodeater -Thanks!
Foodeater says
These sound absolutely divine… and so easy! I’m absolutely going to make these, thanks :)
Cakespy says
mm, these look delicious! I have been obsessed with sesame seeds lately so I might need to give these a try.
As for baking, still not sure. Since I have family spread far and wide, hopefully things that will ship well!
elana says
VeggieGirl -Thanks for your comment; your holiday baking sounds fabulous.
Chrissy -You are very welcome!
cdecocina -Thanks for your comment.
Hannah -That sounds like some great holiday fun!
Trish -Thanks, let me know how you like them :-)
Jessica -In terms of the nut soaking issue, I do soak/dehydrate whenever I have the time. I like the taste of the soaked/dehydrated nuts and I agree with the theory that they have more live enzymes in them that are more bioavailable when this process in undertaken. However, I’m not at all dogmatic about this issue. Sometimes I toast nuts in the oven at 350° as I really like the flavor of roasted nuts. I approach every recipe differently depending on my mood, the time of day and the weather –so in answer to your question, no, I don’t soak nuts for every recipe. Love your stocking stuffer ideas!
yaelian -Thanks and I hope you enjoy them.
yaelian says
Elana, just the ingredients that I love to use! And since they remind of halva, which I love, I will so make these!!
Jessica says
Hi Elana – This recipe got me thinking. A few months ago I bought Ani Phyo’s raw foods cookbook. In it she mentions that she always soaks nuts and seeds before using b/c it helps them become more digestible and makes their nutrients more available to us. I know you recommend soaking in your cashew milk recipe (which is now a staple of my fridge) – I wonder if you do the same with all your recipes and what you think about this issue.
As for gift-making…last year I broke the chain of evil (I’m exaggerating) and made my stocking stuffers instead of buying them for my in-laws. The women got a jar of salt scrub and the guys got bookmarks.
I haven’t decided what to do this year – I’d love to hear more readers’ ideas. Thanks.
Trish says
These look and sound deliscious, I think I need to try them!
Hannah says
Beautiful picture! I’m going to make candies and wrap them in beautiful bags, add some dessert wine and put it all in a beautiful basket with some of my favorite dessert recipes. I can’t wait to get started.
cdecocina says
Nice photographs, this must be delicious. A different way to make truffles.
I will try some of your recipes for sure, I´ve been diving in you blog and I find some of them really interesting.
Congratulations for your blog
chrissy says
Elana,
Its funny you posted this… I was thinking last night about your truffle series and I was toying with the idea of cooking the almond butter/agave mixture down a little more (from the turtle recipe) and scooping and forming it into small balls with a cashew or hazelnut in the middle and coating them in chocolate and more chopped nuts. These all sound GREAT and I am thinking of making an assortment for Thanksgiving to give the dessert selection a little healthy twist! Thanks for all the recipes and the ideas!
VeggieGirl says
INCREDIBLE truffles!!
For the holidays, I’ll be baking my “famous” gluten-free pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and homemade cranberry sauce :-)