Hold onto your shorts. I’m about to blow your mind. Wait? It’s nearly the end of December. Who is wearing shorts? I don’t know where you live, but where I live it’s currently 30 degrees outside and we’ve got a foot of snow on the ground. Not the same where you live? Sunny and 75º? Well then I’m talking to you. Hold onto your shorts. This recipe is no joke out of this world. Do you love Nutella but don’t like all the extra unnecessary ingredients that comes with it? Wouldn’t exactly classify it as healthy? Well you’re in for a treat. back at the end of November I made a Three-Ingredient Nutella recipe that will forever change how I eat Nutella. You MUST run over and check out the recipe.

Who knew it would be so simple? Well the wheels started turning and soon I began thinking of all the different things I could slather this jar of heavenly goodness on. Toast? Graham crackers? My tongue? I got to work and  immediately made my Coconut Nutella Hot Chocolate which was so smooth and rich and delightful. Then I got to thinking.

You know what else are smooth? Rich? Delightful?
TRUFFLES!

Oh baby.
I took it there.

This time of year always gets everyone thinking about holiday sweets and treats and I’m no different than the next person. Load me up with all the yummy goodness that I can get my hands on. Wait. Hold it. All the yummy goodness? If you’re like me there comes a point when you just can’t handle any more treats. BEFORE you get to that point let me introduce these truffles to you. Originally I thought I’d want to use hazelnuts as my base. Then I got to thinking. Why not do the ole’ switcheroo? Spice things up a bit? Insert >> macadamia nuts! What’s the big idea? Well, I’ll have you know, these particular nuts are the real deal. They are packed with numerous health-benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health and wellness. Yay! Furthermore I found these deets (details) in my research:

• 100 g of macadamia provides 8.6 g or 23% of daily-recommended levels of dietary fiber. Additionally, they are a very good source of phytosterols such as ß-sitosterol. However, the nuts carry no cholesterol.
• Since macadamia is free from gluten, it is one of the popular ingredients in the preparation of gluten-free food formulas. Such formula preparations are a healthy alternative in patients with wheat gluten allergy and celiac disease.
• The nuts are rich source of mono-unsaturated fatty (MUF) like oleic acid (18:1) and palmitoleic acids (16:1). Studies suggest that MUF fats in the diet help lower total as well as LDL (bad) cholesterol and increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels in the blood. The Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fiber, MUF fats and antioxidants work favorably in maintaining healthy blood lipid profile and thus offer protection from coronary artery disease and strokes.
• Macadamias are an excellent source of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc. 100 g nuts provide 3.6 µg of selenium. Selenium is a cardio-protective micro-mineral and an important anti-oxidant cofactor for glutathione peroxidase enzyme.
• The nuts are also rich in many important B-complex vitamins that are vital for metabolic functions. 100 g of nuts provide 15% of niacin, 21% of pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), 100% of thiamin, and 12% of riboflavin.
• They contain small amounts of vitamin-A, and vitamin E. Both these fat-soluble vitamins possess potent anti-oxidant activities, which serve to protect cell membranes and DNA damage from harmful oxygen-free radicals.

So you’ve got the great addition of macadamias, now how about the benefit that these truffles are entirely refined sugar-free. All-naturally sweetened with dates. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE how versatile dates are as a sweetener. Of course I love honey, stevia, coconut sugar, molasses, and agave also as natural sweeteners but dates rank pretty close to the top in my book (right behind honey as my all time favorite). Macadamia nuts + dates + my Three Ingredient Nutella recipe and you’ve got these awesome truffles that are perfect for any holiday. Use a food processor to combine the ingredients.

The high-quality chocolate bar that I mentioned in my Nutella recipe is what I used as a coating for half of my truffles. They made a hazelnut and toffee chocolate bar that was perfect for these sweet treats. Simply melt it down and roll in your truffle gently. Transfer to wax paper, sprinkle with a little bit of chopped macadamia nuts and pop them in the freezer. The other half I skipped the melted chocolate and just went straight to rolling in chopped nuts. Make these for yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbors… heck. Make them for me and I’ll love you forever!

When she’s not at work or spending time with family or friends, chances are you’ll find Yvonne in the kitchen wearing an apron and a smile.