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Twelve black olive cocoa date truffles arranged in rows on a cream platter
Family Recipe HQ

Black Olive Cocoa Date Truffles

Small chilled date-and-almond bites with cocoa and a restrained savory note from mild black olives. These are dense fruit truffles rather than chocolate ganache.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Chilling 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 12 truffles, about 20 g each
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Truffle mixture
  • 150 g soft pitted Medjool dates, about 1 cup loosely packed chopped dates; check for pit fragments
  • 40 g unsalted dry-roasted almonds, approximately a generous 1/4 cup
  • 25 g mild pitted ripe black olives, about 2 tablespoons chopped; rinse, drain and blot very dry before weighing
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 10 g
  • 1 tablespoon smooth unsalted almond butter, 16 g; stir well before measuring
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For dusting
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 5 g; use only as much as clings lightly

Equipment

  • Food processor
  • Digital kitchen scale
  • Fine-mesh strainer
  • Paper towels or clean kitchen towel
  • Small tray
  • Parchment paper

Method
 

Instructions
  1. Rinse the pitted olives in a strainer, drain and blot them thoroughly dry. Weigh 25 g after blotting. Chop the dates and check for remaining pit fragments.
  2. Pulse the roasted almonds in a food processor until they form a fine meal with a few tiny flecks. Stop before they turn into almond butter.
  3. Add the dates, olives, 2 tablespoons cocoa, almond butter and vanilla. Pulse, scrape down the bowl, then process in short bursts until evenly mixed and a squeezed spoonful holds together. Avoid prolonged processing that makes the mixture oily.
  4. Divide the whole mixture into 12 equal portions, about 20 g each. Roll each portion between clean hands into a compact ball. If too soft to handle, chill for 10 minutes before rolling; this is additional to the planned finishing chill.
  5. Put the dusting cocoa in a shallow bowl. Roll each truffle lightly in it, then shake off loose powder. Arrange on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until firm enough to pick up cleanly.
  6. Serve chilled or let only the portion being served stand for about 5 minutes. Keep the remaining truffles refrigerated.

Notes

Yield: 12 truffles, about 20 g each. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 0 minutes. Total: 50 minutes.
Times are planning estimates. See the notes for resting, chilling or cooling time included in the total.
The 50-minute estimate includes 30 minutes chilling and starts with soft dates. Very dry dates need separate softening and thorough draining, which changes moisture and timing. Choose mild water-packed ripe black olives, not strongly brined Kalamata olives. Contains almonds. Keep in a covered container at 40°F (4°C) or below and use within 3 days. Because olives add moisture, do not treat these as shelf-stable candy.