{"id":425,"date":"2009-12-18T17:20:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-18T17:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/?p=425"},"modified":"2016-03-17T18:00:34","modified_gmt":"2016-03-17T18:00:34","slug":"chocolate-tahini-truffles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/12\/chocolate-tahini-truffles\/","title":{"rendered":"Chocolate Tahini Truffles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Here in the Middle East, Christmas is not as predominant as the main religion is Islam. Nevertheless, as there is a huge expatriate community here in Dubai, all sorts of Christmas stuff (from trees…plastic though…. over turkey to sweets and whatever else you fancy) is widely available. <\/div>\n
I am still sort of grateful to the fact that I don’t get completely bombarded with Christmas songs and sweets and things from end of October on (I remember this being the case back home in Germany). Especially the food side of Christmas can be quite overloading if you know what I mean.<\/div>\n
Anyway, here in Dubai I managed to stay clear of stuffing myself  with Christmas sweets. Instead I was looking for alternative recipes (hopefully to be made at home) that can combine Christmas with typical Middle Eastern ingredients. <\/div>\n
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Then I found tahini. Tahini is sesame paste. I searched some sweet recipes made of tahini and these tahini-based chocolate truffles are exactly what I was looking for: some decadent and very rich little sweets. You only eat one (or two) at a time and they make you absolutely happy. Isn’t that the perfect sweet? On top of that, it only has four ingredients and it is naturally sweet without any added sugar. It doesn’t need cooking or baking. It keeps in the fridge for ages. Although I can promise you that they will be eaten faster than you might imagine.<\/div>\n

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CHOCOLATE TAHINI TRUFFLES<\/b><\/p>\n

(Print Recipe)<\/a> <\/b><\/div>\n

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2 cups tahini (sesame paste)<\/div>\n
3\/4 cup raisins<\/div>\n
1\/2 cup pitted dried dates<\/div>\n
1 tablespoon cocoa powder<\/div>\n
agave syrup (optional) <\/div>\n
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finely chopped almonds<\/div>\n
finely chopped pistachios<\/div>\n
sesame seeds<\/div>\n
desiccated coconut<\/div>\n
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Yields ca. 25-30<\/div>\n

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Combine tahini, raisins, dates and cocoa powder in a food processor and blend until very smooth. If the mixture is too crumbly add water by the tablespoon. If the batter is not sweet enough, add some agave syrup.
Roll the batter into small balls. Coat each ball with either coconut, sesame seeds or chopped nuts. Refrigerate or freeze the balls for at least an hour before serving.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here in the Middle East, Christmas is not as predominant as the main religion is Islam. Nevertheless, as there is a huge expatriate community here in Dubai, all sorts of Christmas stuff (fromRead More<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,4,5,23,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-Anja","post-425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","category-dessert","category-gluten-free","category-no-added-sugar","category-raw","category-vegan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8TjFz-6R","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":277,"url":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/12\/snowball-cookies\/","url_meta":{"origin":425,"position":0},"title":"Snowball Cookies","author":"Anja","date":"December 15, 2010","format":"image","excerpt":"Less than two weeks to go until Christmas!! I am still struggling a bit to get into the festive mood. Perhaps it's because we have to combine so many traditions. Germans, for instance, put up their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve in the morning. The German Santa brings presents on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cookies"","block_context":{"text":"cookies","link":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/category\/cookies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Snowballs.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Snowballs.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Snowballs.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Snowballs.jpg?fit=1024%2C680&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":161,"url":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/12\/gluten-free-christmas-cake\/","url_meta":{"origin":425,"position":1},"title":"Gluten Free Christmas Cake","author":"Anja","date":"December 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple of weeks ago, I was a stressing out that Christmas was so close, and nothing had been prepared. 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Husband\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dairy-free"","block_context":{"text":"dairy-free","link":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/category\/dairy-free\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/GFChristmasCake.jpg?fit=761%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/GFChristmasCake.jpg?fit=761%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/GFChristmasCake.jpg?fit=761%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/GFChristmasCake.jpg?fit=761%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":171,"url":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/11\/apricot-and-cranberry-nut-bread\/","url_meta":{"origin":425,"position":2},"title":"Apricot and Cranberry Nut Bread","author":"Anja","date":"November 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It's only another month until Christmas, have you noticed? It always comes as a surprise to me. Christmas suddenly just stands in front of the door. The main reason for the surprise factor is probably that I will never get used to the fact that the weather can be sunny\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "dairy-free"","block_context":{"text":"dairy-free","link":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/category\/dairy-free\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/ApricotCranberryNutBread.jpg?fit=910%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/ApricotCranberryNutBread.jpg?fit=910%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/ApricotCranberryNutBread.jpg?fit=910%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/ApricotCranberryNutBread.jpg?fit=910%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":276,"url":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/12\/indian-spice-nuts\/","url_meta":{"origin":425,"position":3},"title":"Indian Spice Nuts","author":"Anja","date":"December 19, 2010","format":"image","excerpt":"\u00a0Before I pester you with yet another Christmas cookie recipe (be sure it will come BEFORE Christmas), I'd like to offer you an alternative to the notoriously sugary and buttery things that we eat in huge amounts BECAUSE it is Christmas. 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