Homemade Vegan Dark Chocolate Truffles

Looking for a treat for your partner (or yourself!) this Valentine's Day? Last year I reviewed some tasty boxed vegan chocolates, and provided a Valentine's Day sugar cookie recipe. But if you'd like to make your own vegan chocolates? Check out this delicious vegan chocolate truffle recipe from Feed Your Awesome Machine.

Be forewarned--this recipe take some time--as you need to let the chocolate set overnight, or for at least 4 hours.

I made these for a party several months ago and they were a big hit!  They are delicious and chocolatey, with the coconut being barely detectable, despite the coconut oil and milk.

What You'll Need
10.5 oz high-quality dark chocolate (70% at least)
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp coconut oil*
About 8 oz. canned coconut milk
Dried coconut flakes and cocoa powder to cover the truffles.

What You'll Need to Do
Chop the chocolate into smallish chunks and place them in a large bowl with the coconut oil and salt. Bring the coconut milk to a boil on the stove and then pour it immediately over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is dissolved, and the ganache is smooth and thick.

Cover the mixture with cling film and let it set overnight (or for at least 4 hours).

After it has set, gather your dried coconut and cocoa powder. Place a handful or so of coconut in a shallow bowl or on a plate, and place a few tablespoons of cocoa powder in a different shallow bowl.

Wash your hands and dry them well. Remove the ganache from the fridge. Use a small measuring spoon to measure out your ganache--somewhere between a heaping teaspoon and shy of a tablespoon. Roll them into a ball in your hands as quickly as possible, so as to prevent heating the chocolate with your hands. Place them directly into either the coconut or cocoa, and roll around to coat. Continue until you've rolled all of the ganache into balls.

Wash and dry your hands before placing each truffle onto a serving plate. I highly recommend using candy wrappers, so as to prevent getting sticky chocolate fingers while eating these (though perhaps that isn't be such a bad thing?). Cover with cling film and place back into the fridge to firm up again. These will keep for up to 4 days--but they'll be gone long before then!

*Feed Your Awesome Machine calls for virgin coconut oil. I used refined coconut oil, and also had excellent results.