The ricotta and cocoa truffles are a quick, no-bake dessert, which you can prepare in just a few minutes, even with the help of children. The process is indeed very simple and fun, perfect for the little ones who love to handle dough and get their hands dirty. The result will be a delicious and relatively healthy dessert, ideal to serve at snack time or at the end of a meal, or for adults, with coffee. To make the ricotta and cocoa truffles, you will need just a few simple ingredients: ricotta – cow or sheep – dry biscuits, unsweetened cocoa, and sugar. If the dessert is not intended for children, you can enrich it with one or two tablespoons of your favorite liquor (rum is a great choice, as is coffee liqueur). The ricotta and cocoa truffles, 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 inexpensive
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 35 pieces
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- 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 ricotta and cocoa truffles
If you are celiac, in addition to using gluten-free dry biscuits, check that the cocoa also has the gluten-free label.
- 12 oz cow's milk ricotta (or sheep's milk)
- 2 cups dry biscuits
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (70 g in the dough + about 20 g for coating)
- 1 tbsp rum (optional)
Tools
- 2 Bowls large
- 1 Small bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Pestle
How to make ricotta and cocoa truffles
To prepare ricotta and cocoa truffles, start by placing the dry biscuits in a large bowl. Crush them not too finely, with your hands or with the help of a pestle. If you prefer, you can use a mixer, but be careful not to pulverize them completely, you need to get a rather coarse mixture (1). In another bowl, combine the ricotta, 70 g of unsweetened cocoa, the sugar, and the liquor, if used (2).
Mix carefully using a spoon until you get a homogeneous mixture (3). Also, add the crumbled biscuits (4).
Mix carefully to incorporate them into the dough until you have a homogeneous and rather sticky mixture (5). With slightly damp hands, form balls slightly larger than a walnut (6).
Place about a tablespoon of cocoa in a small bowl and roll the balls one by one, covering them completely (7). With these quantities, you should obtain about 35 cocoa truffles. Arrange them on a tray or deep plate (8) and let them firm up in the coldest part of the fridge 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 treat for a party. In this case, you can place them in colorful paper cups for a more scenic effect.
Storage
The storage times for cocoa and ricotta truffles mainly depend 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 biscuits are best for making truffles?
You can use any dry biscuits you like: I used petit biscuits, which are not overly sweet. If you use sweeter biscuits, you might reduce the amount of sugar a bit.
