Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Truffles (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, can be vegan)

I'm having a strange relationship with chocolate right now: let's call it complicated.  

I've only just added back chocolate into my diet after the Autoimmune Paleo Diet trial and the effect is quite remarkable.  I'd practically forgotten what 2.30 a.m. feels like, but last night, I was there, staring at the ceiling and regretting the late night sampling session.

What can I say?  I'm a sensitive petunia when it comes to stimulants. Twitchy like a little mouse. Chocolate is my bad boyfriend that I can see but irregularly, even when he's just wingman to my good buddy, Pumpkin.

Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Truffles

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
Makes 14

For the truffle:

1.5 cups (~320 grams) mashed pumpkin
5 dsp raw cacao powder (or just regular cocoa - this might be safer if you are insomniac like me)
5 dsp coconut flour
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
10g gelatin (or agar agar if you are going for vegan)

optional: 1/2 tsp stevia (if you like the truffle sweeter)
1/2 cup 'other liquid' (I used kombucha, which created a deeply interesting flavour)

For the glaze:

3 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp cacao powder
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients for the truffle in the food processor. You want a sticky but slightly firm mix. If it seems 'crumbly' (which can happen with coconut flour), then add some extra liquid.

Form into balls, place on a baking tray (non-stick is best) and bake at 180C for about 20 minutes or until the balls are slightly firm on the outside. They won't really 'cook'.

Place in the fridge until fully cooled.

While the truffles are cooling, melt the glaze ingredients at low heat in a saucepan on the stovetop, then place that also in the fridge until it thickens slightly. If you leave it too long and it hardens, simply re-melt.  Nobody gets it right the first time.

Once the truffles are cool and the glaze is gooey, rather than runny, carefully remove the truffles from the tray and swoosh them in the glaze one by one.

I used a two step process - first coat, let it set in the fridge, second coat, chill again.

Sprinkles are always good.  Cacao powder, cacao nibs, a little sea-salt or sugar, all of these would be fine.

You will probably want to play with the sweetener levels until it suits your palate.  I've been off sugar for a while and prefer bitter chocolate to sweet.  Let me know if you come up with any particularly yummy combinations or additions.

Enjoy!

Tomorrow it's blood test day, and ... ethics day, again.  Good things take time and plans change, right?  ;)