Vegan Chocolate Cherry Bites recipe by Taline Gabrielian

With Christmas day fast approaching and everyone scrambling to get their Christmas menus in order, we thought we would share a Vegan dessert option.

This recipe comes from one of our favourite cookbooks, Hippie Lane by Taline Gabrielian (available in store).

Recipe

Makes 12 – Dairy free, Vegan, Gluten free, raw

Ingredients

125g (1 cup) dried cherries

60ml (1/4 cup) melted coconut oil

360g (4 cups) desiccated coconut

1/8 teaspoon Himalayan salt

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

2 tablespoons raw cacao powder

2 tablespoons macadamia or almond butter

45ml rice malt syrup

 

Chocolate coating

375ml (1 1/2 cups) melted coconut oil

175g (1 1/2 cups) raw cacao powder

185ml (3/4 cup) maple syrup

 

Method

Place the dried cherries in a food processor and reduce to a paste. Add the coconut oil and coconut and pulse until combined.

Add the salt, vanilla, cacao powder, nut butter and rice malt syrup and process until the mixture sticks together.

Line a rectangular baking tin, measuring about 34 x 23 cm and 5 cm deep, with baking paper. Press the mixture into the tin and freeze for up to 1 hour.

Whisk the chocolate coating ingredients together in a bowl.

Place a sheet of baking paper on the kitchen bench, then set a wire baking rack on top.

Remove the baking tine from the freezer and cut the cherry mixture into bite-sized pieces.

Dip each piece in the chocolate and place on the wire rack to allow the excess chocolate to drain off.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. The cherry bites will keep for 2-3 weeks.

TIP You can replace the nut butter with seed butter to make this recipe nut-allergy friendly

Most ingredients, along with the cookbook, are available for purchase in store. Happy cooking and eating everyone!!