Easy coconut truffles recipe with chocolate.
In the world of desserts, a “truffle” is a round chocolate confectionary beloved by many, but did you know it is actually a copycat? Those chocolate delights were created to imitate the real deal – a spore filled body of a fungus found near old trees. How appetizing, right? 🙂 Similar to a mushroom, but much, much more rare, edible truffles found in the wild are nicknamed by chefs as the “diamond of the kitchen” because they have a revered flavor when the spores are mature. Each truffle has its own unique taste. The black truffle, for example, has a rich, syrupy sweet flavor and that my friends, is how the copycat truffle came about!
Typically coated or dusted in chocolate, truffles can be filled with anything from caramel to creams to nuts. When I stumbled upon a recipe in the February 2012 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine for truffles made with coconut, I just had to make them! I love coconut. The recipe calls for three cups of finely shredded coconut, quality cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate and vanilla. To me, the filling has to be the most delicious part of the truffle and I’m glad to say that this recipe did not disappoint! I have made these coconut truffles for birthday gifts, Christmas parties and Bible studies and they are always memorable. I actually had a friend take one home for the freezer and said she broke off a tiny piece each day for a week so it would last! These coconut truffles are quick and simple to make, extremely delectable and they can be decorated for any occasion. Since it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day, I’m going to give them an Irish twist.
Are you ready to make some homemade coconut truffles with me?
The most important part in making these is to be sure you have three cups of finely grated unsweetened coconut. Here is a picture of flaked, shredded and finely grated coconut. You can make any form of coconut into finely grated by using a blender or food processor.
Into your bowl of finely grated coconut, add 3 Tablespoons of white flour and 3 Tablespoons of quality cocoa powder. I recommend using raw cocao powder because of its potent chocolate flavor. You might not have as rich of a truffle if you use say, and old jar of Hershey’s, but it will still work!
Set your bowl of coconut and flour mixture aside and begin separating four eggs. The recipe calls for four egg whites. You can either discard the yolks or save them for a yummy omelet later!
Before we start cooking, there is one more step in our prep work. Using a sharp knife, chop 3 oz. of bittersweet chocolate (60% or more cocoa) which equals about 1/3 cup. Most baking bars come in 4 oz sizes and break into 8 squares, so I chopped up 6 total squares and set it aside.
Time to turn up the heat! In a medium saucepan, mix the egg whites, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt using medium low heat until the mixture is warm to the touch.
Add your bowl of coconut and flour to the pan and continue stirring for several minutes until you hear a sizzling sound.
Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract and your chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is all melted. The dough will be thick!
Scoop out small balls onto a greased or silicon lined baking sheet. Bake them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until they are set and crisp around the edges. Remove from the pan and cool on wire racks.
One tip I learned is that if you let your dough cool for 5 minutes, you can more easily form the dough into balls with your hand instead of using a cookie scoop. The ball shape will bake into a higher truffle (as seen on the right) The first batch I showed you was scooped out right away from the pan and did not have as much lift (left).
When the truffles are cool to the touch, I like to dip them entirely in melted chocolate! The original recipe asks you to dip only the tops with chocolate, but I think it’s more fun biting into something when you don’t know what’s inside!
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I painted green chocolate shamrocks on some of them and swirled others with milk or white chocolate. To make things really fun, I drizzled a thick line of white chocolate on top of the already dried shell and added sprinkles for a rainbow effect! Be creative! There is so much can you do to decorate these truffles. I don’t know about you, but if there was a pot of these at the end of the rainbow, I would kiss that leprechaun!
Enjoy …and Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
Coconut Truffles
Ingredients
- 3 cups unsweetened coconut finely grated
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate chopped
- Melting chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350˚ F.
- In a medium bowl, combine 3 cups of finely grated coconut, 3 Tablespoons of white flour and 3 Tablespoons of quality cocoa powder. Set the bowl aside.
- Separate four eggs. Set the whites aside.
- Using a knife, chop 3 oz. of bittersweet chocolate (60% or more cocoa) and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, mix the egg whites, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt using low to medium heat until the mixture is warm to the touch.
- Add your bowl of coconut and flour to the pan and continue stirring for several minutes until you hear a sizzling sound.
- Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract and your chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is all melted.
- Wait 5 minutes and form the dough into balls with your hands and place them on to a greased or silicon lined baking sheet.
- Bake them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until they are set and crisp around the edges. Remove from the pan and cool completely on wire racks.
- Coat with melted chocolate and decorate
Comments & Reviews
Sara says
Oh my yum! I can’t wait to try your recipe! Truffles happen to be my favorite thing ever !
Meredith Edwards says
Thanks Sara! I love truffles too. Hope you enjoy making them 😉
Christine - Jar Of Lemons says
These are so pretty! Perfect for a party or gathering. Can’t wait to taste these and share them with friends!
Meredith Edwards says
Thank you Christine! These ARE great to share with friends 😉
Ben Myhre says
These look like beautiful little snacks (or desserts) that I would devour a plate of in no time.
Meredith Edwards says
Thank you Ben!
Karyl | Karyl's Kulinary Krusade says
I like the sound of chocolate confectionary MUCH better than old spore by a tree!! I’ve never tried to make my own truffles, but I certainly eat lots of them when other people do! Pinning this recipe
Meredith Edwards says
I could not agree more! Thank you for pinning Karyl 🙂
Jenni LeBaron says
These are gorgeous! What a tasty and pretty treat to pack into a gift box – or devour yourself!
Meredith Edwards says
Thanks Jenni! These are definitely a winner in presentation 🙂
Cindy says
These looks so good and I love the St Paddy’s touch! I do need to use dutch cocoa or regular, or does it matter? thanks for the awesome recipe
Meredith Edwards says
Thanks for your kind words Cindy! I used regular cocoa powder – or rather, “raw cacao” powder, which is minimally processed. You can find it all over Amazon. Regular grocer cocoa powder would be fine if you don’t have the raw. I would not use dutch cocoa only because I do not care for its taste.
Tanya says
I love truffles and chocolate and coconut are the perfect flavor combo. Plus yours are soo freaking cute!
Meredith Edwards says
Thank you Tanya! We love the chocolate and coconut combo too!
Rachel says
Aside from the fact that this recipe looks absolutely yummy, I loved reading about the history of chocolate truffles. It’s good to learn something new every day!
Dominique | Perchance to Cook says
Oh yummmm, homemade coconut truffles! They sound just delightful. I need to get myself some finely grated shredded coconut!
Meredith Edwards says
Totally worth finding the finely grated 😉
Jessica Robinson says
These coconut truffles sound amazing! Never heard of a cooked truffle before, will definitely be trying them soon!
Meredith Edwards says
I hope you like them Jessica! Let us know how it goes 🙂