The ricotta and cocoa truffles are a quick and no-bake dessert that you can prepare in just a few minutes even with the help of children. The process is indeed very simple and fun, perfect for little ones who love to handle dough and get their hands dirty. The result will be a delicious and overall healthy dessert, ideal to serve as a snack or after a meal, or for adults, with coffee. To prepare the ricotta and cocoa truffles, you will need few and simple ingredients: ricotta – cow’s milk or sheep’s milk – plain cookies, unsweetened cocoa, and sugar. If the dessert is not for children, you can enrich it with one or two tablespoons of your favorite liqueur (rum is an excellent choice, as well as coffee liqueur). The ricotta and cocoa truffles, just like the coconut truffles or the hazelnut truffles, are a quick recipe that always wins everyone over and proves useful on many occasions!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 35Pieces
- Cooking methods: No Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 50.89 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 8.61 (g) of which sugars 4.22 (g)
- Proteins 1.68 (g)
- Fat 1.80 (g) of which saturated 0.94 (g)of which unsaturated 0.46 (g)
- Fibers 1.06 (g)
- Sodium 27.89 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 20 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for about 35 cocoa and ricotta truffles
If you are celiac, in addition to using gluten-free plain cookies, check that the cocoa also has the gluten-free label.
- 350 g cow's milk ricotta (or sheep's milk)
- 170 g plain cookies
- 100 g sugar
- 90 g unsweetened cocoa powder (70 g in the dough + about 20 g for covering)
- 1 tablespoon rum (optional)
Tools
- 2 Bowls large
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Mortar
How to Prepare Ricotta and Cocoa Truffles
To prepare the ricotta and cocoa truffles, start by placing the plain cookies in a large bowl. Crush them not too finely, using your hands or with the help of a mortar. If you prefer, you can use a mixer, but be careful not to pulverize them completely, you should obtain a fairly coarse mixture (1). In another bowl, combine the ricotta, 70 g unsweetened cocoa, sugar, and liqueur, if using (2).
Mix carefully using a spoon until you obtain a homogeneous mixture (3). Also add the crumbled cookies (4).
Mix carefully to incorporate them into the dough until you form a homogeneous and rather sticky mixture (5). With slightly damp hands, form balls slightly larger than a walnut (6).
Pour about a tablespoon of cocoa into a small bowl and roll each ball in it, covering them completely (7). With these quantities, you should get about 35 cocoa truffles. Arrange them on a tray or in a deep plate (8) and let them firm up in the coldest part of the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Serve the ricotta and cocoa truffles at the end of a meal or as a snack, or as a finger food dessert for a party. In that case, you can arrange them in colored paper cups for a more scenic effect.
Storage
The storage time of ricotta and cocoa truffles depends essentially on the freshness of the ricotta: if you use very fresh ricotta, they can be kept for 4 or 5 days in the refrigerator.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Which cookies are best suited for making truffles?
You can use any plain cookies you prefer: I used petit cookies, which are not overly sweet. If you use sweeter cookies, you can reduce the amount of sugar a little.