White Chocolate and Nutella Truffles

I love truffles all year round but there is something kind of suggesting that they're perfect for the winter-into-spring transition. It's post-Valentine's day, and (many) thanks to my dad, I ended up with not one, but two, boxes of truffles this year. While it's safe to say that those are all gone by now, I am still craving truffles so I made some more! 

White Chocolate and Nutella Truffles, makes 15-18

7 ounces dark chocolate

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup Nutella

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 tablespoon oil (I used vegetable)

chocolate sprinkles (optional) 

In a double boiler (or a glass bowl set over simmering water) melt together the first four ingredients. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. If you leave the mixture in the refrigerator for longer than 2 hours, it will likely become too firm to work with. So just allow it to soften at room temperature until you can.

Use a melon baller or spoon to form small balls. I powder my hands and spoon with cocoa, so the mixture is easier to work with and doesn't stick to everything. Once you have all the truffles formed, place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. 

In the mean time, melt the white chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl. I will microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir, and repeat until the chocolate is melted. Dip each truffle in the melted chocolate to coat it, then place on a sheet of wax paper.

Add the chocolate sprinkles as you work, before the white chocolate has time to set. I usually drizzle on just a little more chocolate to the tops at the end, just to be fancy. Let these set over night or pop in them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Enjoy! 

xoxo,

Joanna

Raw, Vegan Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding

Lately, I've been eating chia seed pudding. A whole lot. It's probably my favorite breakfast, snack, and even desert. And this is simple, plain, vanilla chia pudding that takes literally little to no time to make. 

What I’m about to share will make four servings of chia seed pudding. If you want to cut this recipe in half, you can, and heck, if you want to go crazy and double it, you can do that, too. But what you need to know is the basic ratio of chia seed to liquid that will yield perfect results. For me, it is:

3 tablespoons:1 cup–that’s what you need to remember! The liquid can be any plant milk, but coconut water and juice are great, too.

When I’m making a single serving of chia pudding at a time, I usually just stir the cup of liquid and seeds together. I wait a minute or two, then stir again. I stir again five minutes later, and five minutes after that. After that, I just let it sit for an hour or two before enjoying. Usually, I’m prepping chia pudding for breakfast, so I let it sit overnight in the fridge. In the morning, I’ll add a tablespoon or two of extra almond milk if necessary.

When I make a bunch of servings at once, though, it’s much easier to make chia pudding in my blender. Here’s what you’ll need to make four servings at a time:

I add my almond milk, vanilla, and maple syrup to my blender and blend them up. Then, with the blender on a very low setting (the lowest setting in a regular blender, or about a 2 or 3 in the Vitamix), I add the chia seed.

It blends up without getting stuck together, and it’s a fast way to mix things up. 

I transfer the whole thing to a mixing bowl and–just as with a single serving–I give it a stir.

I give it another stir a moment or two later. I stir it five minutes later, and five minutes after that. Then I let it sit for an hour (thirty minutes will be enough time if that’s all you have) before transferring it to storage containers.

I usually get about one quart and one small, half pint jar. For me, that’s about four servings.

This chia breakfast is a parfait of 1 cup vanilla chia pudding, two tablespoons of flax seeds and almonds, two tablespoons of shredded coconut, and fresh blackberries. 

It’s as beautiful as it is delicious–and fun to eat. Here it is, in snack size!

I like any berries on top of a chia pudding, but local blackberries have been particular giant (and delicious) lately.

So, that’s my plain chia pudding process. Of course, you can add just about anything you like: ginger, cinnamon, cocoa, protein powder. This dish is easy to customize and uber pretty!

xoxo,

Joanna