These Maple Walnut Truffles are super quick and easy to make, but they look so elegant on a holiday dessert table.
They're a great dessert to bring to a holiday get-together because they can be made in advance and travel well. And not to mention they're gluten-free and low carb AND super yummy!
I didn't set out looking for a gluten-free recipe. I originally intended to make cake pops to bring to a friend's house for Christmas Eve, but then I realized I basically had to bake a cake first, then smush it with frosting to make it into the pops. That seemed like an awful lot of work.
So then I started looking for a recipe that might be similar, but easier. After browsing several recipes, I realized that if I used almond flour, I didn't need to bake anything because unlike regular baking flour which has to be cooked, almond flour can be eaten raw.
Several recipes used agave (which I didn't have) as a sweetener, but I figured maple syrup would make a great substitution, and instead of butter which I saw in a few recipes, I used cream cheese.
I love walnuts with anything maple, so a few chopped walnuts went into the dough, and more got pressed onto the top of each truffle.
So the end result was these delicious No Bake Maple Walnut Truffles that were as elegant and delicious as they were simple and fun to make. I think they would be perfect for New Year's to nibble on while you're sipping champagne and watching the ball drop, so I decided to share my recipe.
(scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card)
No Bake Maple Walnut Truffles
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons finely chopped walnuts, divided
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup white baking chocolate wafers
1 tablespoon coconut oil
In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, 1/4 cup of walnuts and salt and stir until combined. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
In a small bowl over a pot of simmering water, melt the white chocolate and coconut oil, stirring until smooth.
Using a small ice cream scoop, form the dough into balls. Dip each ball into the bowl of white chocolate then use a fork to lift the ball out of the chocolate and onto a piece of parchment paper, letting any excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
Sprinkle the balls with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of walnuts before the chocolate starts to set, lightly pressing the nuts into the chocolate.
Refrigerate the balls for another 30 minutes to set the chocolate. Serve chilled.
